


Stray Hearts

by bluegrasskitty



Series: Walking Contradiction [2]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Developing Friendships, Developing Relationships, Found Family, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:34:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24754843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluegrasskitty/pseuds/bluegrasskitty
Summary: A series of drabbles from the world of Walking Contradiction.Could alternatively be titled "Things That Happen When Deacon Isn't Around".Mostly scenes I wasn't able to fit into the main story. Things we have heard about but not actually seen. I will try to remember to mark where each chapter takes place within the main story. Hopefully this can flesh out Nora's wide variety of friendships across the Commonwealth and provide a little more insight into who she is when Deacon isn't looking.If there are scenes/events you would like me to write about, please leave a comment! I am mostly using this as a way to get the creative juices flowing when I'm temporarily stymied, so it will be self-indulgent AF. Fair warning.
Relationships: Sole Survivor & Codsworth, Sole Survivor & Dogmeat, Sole Survivor & Hancock, Sole Survivor & Pickman, Sole Survivor & Piper Wright, Sole Survivor & Preston Garvey, Sole Survivor & RJ MacCready
Series: Walking Contradiction [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790134
Comments: 72
Kudos: 41





	1. MacCready (1/3)

(Takes place during _**Walking Contradiction,**_ chapter 5: _Though she be but little, she is fierce)_

“Who’s the bestest baby in the whole wide world, hmm? Such a smart boy! Mama’s little lover baby!”

Mac reluctantly tore his eyes away from the sight of Nora giving Dogmeat snuggles and bits of her dinner. It required effort. He quietly cleared his throat, pulled his hat down a little further and kept staring into the fire. A grown woman cooing baby talk at a dog should not have the kind of effect on him it was having. But then, most things she did seemed to have an effect on him.

His new boss was just… hot. Hot, but _ odd.  _ It was that last little bit that had him still leery of this whole situation.

Take her stupid dog, for example. Sure wasn’t just some mutt. She claimed to have found him at a gas station of all places. Just a random stray who helped her kill some molerats and then stuck by her side after she cooked one up for him.

He was calling bullshit. Absolute bullshit. He wasn’t just some wasteland idiot who didn’t know jack all about shit. He’d grown up around dogs. A whole dang pack of them had protected Lamplight since the times of Jason Grant.

Bandit, Hooligan, Ginger and all the rest were the descendants of dogs that had shown up shortly after the bombs fell. Not allowed in vaults, abandoned by their mungo owners. The founders had taken them in and kept them fed. In return, the dogs kept them alive. According to Grant’s diary, at least one of them had been a German Shepherd. Some police dog if the battle-scarred armor he’d shown up in was legit. Just like Dogmeat. Except after two hundred years of indiscriminate mating,  _ all _ the dogs at Lamplight, and everywhere else he’d ever been, were mutts.  _ Heinz 57 mutts, _ as the boss called them.

So who the hell was breeding purebred German Shepherds anymore?

There was the whole glove situation, too, of course. He’d never seen someone eat with their gloves on before. Not at camp anyway, and especially not fire-roasted, greasy as fuck radroach.

Actually, he’d _never_ seen someone eat radroach with such enthusiasm, either. He knew she was a vaultie and all, but damn. You’d think she’d never been exposed to protein before with all the moaning and other sounds that, frankly, made it  _ very _ hard for him to concentrate on his own meal.

He sighed to himself. She’d at least been upfront about why she’d hired him. Prewar. Soft. Unable to pitch a tent if her life depended on it (his pants notwithstanding). He was supposed to teach her how to survive and how to shoot targets that actually moved and eventually help her take down a merc who’s legend had stretched all up and down the east coast.

Kellogg.

Be a real feather in his cap, professionally speaking, if he could manage all that. Be an even bigger feather if, maybe teary-eyed and grateful, Nora finally took pity on him and indulged one of the fantasies that had been running through his head since she’d jiggled her way into the Third Rail’s VIP room.

“Mac?”

He jumped a little and looked up. Her eyes looked almost golden in the firelight but it was her little knowing grin that had him looking away. She was always staring at him like she could read his every thought.

That was weird, too.

“Yeah, boss?”

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Oh, like she didn’t know. “Not much. What’re you thinking about?”

“How I’d like to get to know you better.”

That had him looking back at her. His excitement died when he saw nothing but friendly interest on her face. Not exactly the interest he’d been hoping for.

“What do you wanna know?”

“Hmm...well, how long have you been in Boston?”

He shrugged, “I dunno. Four months, maybe?”

“Four months. And you were in Wa... ah, I mean, the Capitol Wasteland before that, right?”

“Yup.”

“Huh.” Dogmeat had finally plopped down beside her with his head in her lap and she scratched his ears thoughtfully. “Bet it’s nothing but a pile of rubble nowadays.”

“Just about.”

“Is that why you left?”

Another shrug. “Maybe.”

“You said you were taking a big risk being here when I hired you.”

“So?”

“Sooo what’s the big risk?”

This was starting to feel a lot like an interrogation. He finally got fed up enough to glare at her properly. “Look, if you’ve got somethin’ specific you wanna ask me, then just ask it already. Stop beating around the bush.”

She blinked at him a few times, clearly surprised at the way he’d snapped at her. The beginning of a real smile started to appear on her face before she ducked her head and nodded. “Okay. Okay, my bad. Sorry. My husband always told me I slip into lawyer mode too easy. Guess that’s one thing that hasn’t changed.”

He watched her watch the fire. In every stupid pre-war poster and magazine he’d ever seen, the women all looked amazing. Bombshells, they’d called them. Nora was no exception to that, with her dark, thick hair and pristine skin. Those big eyes and that mouth. God. That fucking mouth. That's what dreams were made of right there. Curves like he’d never seen in person. It was a wonder she could even find tops that didn’t bust at the seams.

He wondered, not for the first time, if all women had been this pretty back in the old days.

Shit, he was letting himself get distracted again.

“Stuff’s a lot different now, huh?”

She nodded, “It sure is… it’s not all bad though.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Same old bullshit, more rust, but… less rules. That’s good. People don’t seem quite as judgmental. Nobody really cares where you grew up or what your job is. That’s also good.”

He snorted, “I thought you said you’d been to Diamond City already.”

Nora laughed, “Well, there’s gotta be some assholes, right? At least they’re all contained in one place.”

“Heh.”

“Camping’s still a pain in the ass. I don’t know how everybody does it like it’s just  _ normal.” _

“Weren’t an outdoorsy kinda gal, huh?”

“Not even a little. Nate was always…” A little line appeared between her eyebrows and she looked away again. “I um… I mean, my husband was always trying to get me to be a nature girl, but it never stuck.”

The sadness in her voice resonated hard. He’d told the occasional story about his wife since she’d passed, but he’d never used her name. Hadn’t realized that until just now. Saying the name was somehow a million times harder than just saying what she’d been to him. Maybe that was true for everybody who’d lost a spouse like they had.

“I bet he got a kick out of trying though.”

The half smile she gave him brought out one of her dimples. “You think?”

“Yeah. It’s been pretty fun for me so far. He ever see you try to shoot anything bigger than a pistol?” Mac would never forget the comic look of surprise and confusion on her face when she’d fired his rifle and the kickback sent her straight down to the ground. He'd laughed his ass off at her. Damn near pissed his pants.

She scowled at him, “Rude. You’re rude.”

There was no heat behind the words so he figured he could push it a little, “I mean, I’ve knocked women flat on their backs before, but --”

“Oh, shut up!” Nora threw her empty CRAM can at his head and pouted fiercely when he easily dodged it.

“Hey! You wanna throw crap at me, that’s gonna cost you extra.”

“You’re greedy, too.”

“Yup.”

“I’m honestly surprised you don’t charge by the bullet.”

“Huh. Now there’s an idea.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, “You get first shift.”

“Aw, boss. Come on.”

“Save it. Nobody wants to hear your whining. Do we, pupper?” She was on her feet, already starting with the baby talk. Dogmeat trotted along behind her to her sleeping bag and curled up on the ground next to her. “Anyway, I’m in charge so that’s that.”

Mac watched her get all comfy cozy and huffed. He’d been awake since hours before dawn thanks to her insistence on taking the first shift last night. Which she damn well knew.

“Better hope I don’t pass out and some raider doesn’t come steal you in the night.”

_ “You _ better hope you don’t pass out or I’ll be kicking that scrawny ass of yours all the way back to Goodneighbor.”

He made a face at the fire and mumbled to himself, “Hard to kick somebody’s ass when you’ve already been abducted.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

“Well, if it’s nothing, then can you keep it down? Some of us need our beauty sleep.”

“Yeah, I know. Dogmeat’s been lookin’ a little rough lately.”

“Asshole.”

He snickered a little and poked at the fire. Despite being in the Commonwealth for most of the fall, he still wasn’t used to the icy cold. It got cold back home, too, but there was an edge to it here. Cut right through his clothes most days. The nights had his teeth chattering already and it was barely November. He’d have bought a new coat if the guilt hadn’t forced him to send his caps back to the farm instead.

He could suck it up. Learn to live with being cold all the time. His son couldn’t.

“Hey, Mac?” Her voice was drowsy and soft. Gentler than he was used to hearing, even when she was cooing at the damn dog. It made him shiver a little.

“Yeah?”

“How many caps would it cost for you to join me in this sleeping bag?” She laughed a little and snuggled down into the bedroll a bit more. “Freezing my ass off over here.”

“Uh…” Shit, was this it? Had luck finally decided to smile on him? “I wouldn’t even know what to charge for that, boss.”

Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Maybe there’d been a few nights where he’d gotten a little too drunk and gone to bed with someone only to wake up alone with caps on the dresser. His going rate seemed to between twenty and sixty caps which wasn’t half bad in his estimation for an amateur. Nova in Megaton charged at least one-twenty, of course, but she was  _ experienced. _ He didn’t know firsthand or anything cause she was a bit out of his price range, but he’d heard things. Good things. Really good things, actually.

But accidental prostitution was one thing. This was another. This was actually…

No, you know what? This was fucking great. He was getting what he wanted, she was gonna get what she wanted, and he was gonna get paid on top of it. It was the very definition of a win-win situation.

Anyway, their location was pretty secure. He’d gone to the trouble of finding them a dead-end alley. Some ancient store awning over them to catch the smoke from their fire. Mines already set at the entrance. Her insisting on them taking shifts was purely a bitch move on her part. Maybe an earned one, but still, it was fine. This was totally fine, and if it turned out not totally fine, he’d fought off assholes naked before. Shit happened to everybody sooner or later, right? It’s not like he’d even _be_ naked this time. He’d just have his pants undone. When you really thought it all out, this was no more dangerous than if he’d had to shit or something. Keeping the boss happy was at least as crucial to his well-being as taking a dump.

Mac stoked the fire a bit more to make sure it didn’t go out in his absence. He stood, took off his hat and belatedly thought to check his breath before popping a mentat both for luck and it’s grapey taste. His bandoleers came off easy and he set them next to his rifle. The pistol was staying strapped on.

Uncomfortable or not, there were some things you just didn’t chance.

They could talk prices after. Shit, maybe if he really wowed her he could double the money she’d already paid him for this little field trip of hers. He hadn’t just been bragging before. He’d been known to give a girl a good time now and again. True, for some reason he seemed to attract mostly other men here lately, and it had been a while since he’d been intimately acquainted with the female form, but he’d spent enough time obsessing over Nora’s to already have a gameplan in his head.

She was turned away from him. Curled up with Dogmeat at her back. Even shrouded by that stupid sleeping bag, you could see she was all woman. He’d never seen an ass like hers. Ever. Not even in the magazines or comics. There were times he felt hypnotized watching it wiggle in front of him across the wastes. It somehow looked even bigger when she was laying down. Probably feel amazing sinking his hands into all that.

Mac nudged Dogmeat away with his foot and knelt down before quickly unzipping the bag enough to get into it. She jumped a little, a tiny tremor running through her body that made her ass squirm against his dick in a fucking fantastic way.

He scooted close and molded his body to hers, a hand slipping around her waist to pull her back to him before it traveled up, finally kneading one of her breasts like he’d been thinking about every day since she hired him. Couldn’t even get his hand close to around it. Warm and heavy and it gave way deliciously when he squeezed it.

“M-Mac?”

He grinned against her neck and nibbled while he rubbed his erection against her. She sounded so breathless and cute. Nervous. Probably her first time paying. Definitely her first time with a merc. A pre-war girl like her, used to soft living and softer men, would no doubt get a big thrill outta something like that. He’d bet twenty caps her panties were soaked already.

“M’hmm?”

Her hand covered his on her breast and tried to tug it down. Gently at first, then with a bit more force when he made a grumpy noise and refused to abandon his handful of paradise. “Mac?”

Her impatience here was kinda adorable. Maybe she’d been thinking about this for a while, too. His teeth grazed her skin and he licked just below her earlobe before whispering, “Damn, sweetheart. I’ll get there. Just wanna make sure you get there first.”

_ “And just where the fuck do you think we’re going!?” _   


That had him freezing. “Uh…”

“Get your hand off my goddamn tit  _ right now!” _

Panic surged through him and he not only let her go, but scrambled out of the bag as fast as he possibly could. He would have kept going, but Dogmeat was immediately behind him, snarling and growling and as much as he wanted to avoid getting shot here, he was equally worried he was about to lose a nut to her furry killing machine. He’d seen the thing tear the throat out of a mutant hound just yesterday. He’d probably get a real kick out of using Mac’s ass like a chew toy.

Nora kicked her way free from the bedroll and stood, charging right up to him and glaring as hard as she could with a finger in his face. “You damn well better hope you hit your head in the last five minutes, or I’m gonna --”

_ “I’m sorry! _ I’m sorry! I’m so,  _ so _ sorry! Oh, God.” Mac held his hands up and eased as far back as Dogmeat would allow. “I didn’t… I thought… I mean, you asked if I’d --”

“I was  _ joking!” _

“Oh.”

_ “Oh? _ Oh. That’s really all you’ve got to say for yourself?”

“Um, and I’m sorry?”

Her eyes narrowed, “You really thought I’d hire you for sex?”

“U-um.”

“Answer me. Is that what you thought I hired you for? Be honest. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

“I uh… I mean, I can’t say I hadn’t thought about it. A little.”

She sighed and the deep disappointment evident on her face made him want to take a flying leap off the nearest tall building. “Do I need to let you go, Mac? Is this going to be a problem now?”

“No! No, you… I mean, there’s no problem on this side, boss.”

“Clearly there is.”

“I just… I…” He fumbled around for words and finally shrugged, his shoulders slumping down in defeat as his head drooped. “I’m sorry. I can escort you to DC or Goodneighbor or whatever, if you want. You can have your caps back. Full refund. I’m… I’m sorry. I was an idiot. Stupid. That was stupid. I’m sorry.”

Nora sighed again and folded her arms, “ Don’t say that. You’re not stupid.”

“I dunno, I definitely feel pretty --”   


“If you were stupid, this would be easier to forgive.”

He chanced a look at her face and the frustration and regret there gutted him more than anything. She’d trusted him. She’d depended on him. She’d  _ liked _ him. They’d almost started to feel like pals over the past few days. When was the last time a person had actual expectations for him like that? Or even gave a damn about him at all?

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re a handsome guy, Mac… and I did find you in  _ Goodneighbor.  _ I mean, you can’t possibly be hurting for company, right?”

“Right.”

Her eyes grew serious and concerned, “Is this about caps? You said you were hard up before. Are you in some kind of trouble or something?”

He honestly wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he just shrugged.

“Cause there are easier ways to earn money than this. Believe me. Especially in today’s world. No alarms. No fingerprinting. No cops. It's a hustler's dream out here.”

“What?”

“Nobody ever taught you about taking a five-fingered discount? Taking a little off the top when a mark isn’t looking?”

Okay now he was really confused. Was the Minutemen general, Miss Goody Two-Shoes herself, actually encouraging him to steal shit?

“I know my way around a pocket.”

“Alright then, so…”, she waved back at the sleeping bag. “Why?”

“I-I thought you wanted to.”

“And?”

Fuck, she was really gonna make him say it.  _ “I  _ wanted to.”

Another disappointed sigh. “I thought we were friends, Mac. I really did. You know how many friends I’ve made since I left that damn vault? Slim to none. I don’t… I don’t  _ get _ this world yet. I don’t understand what makes people tick anymore. They're so hard to read now. But then I found you! And you’re funny and smart and into the same stuff I’m into. I mean, it’s literally been two hundred years since I’ve been able to talk to anybody about the Unstoppables. Nobody I’ve ever known has appreciated Grognak the way you do. Most people just write him off and…” She shrugged, “I dunno. I guess I read you all wrong. I didn’t realize you were just humoring me to get in my pants.”

“I wasn’t!”

“Sure.”

“No, I really wasn’t! I’ve… I mean, it’s been a long time since I could really talk to anybody but talking with you is… easy. Fun. You don’t ever get mad when I’m being a smartass, er...aleck. You get all my jokes and you’re always laughing and… it’s been great just screwing around with you out here.” He winced a bit, “I mean… ugh, sorry. Poor choice of words.”

Nora stared at him with that deadly serious look on her face for at least three solid seconds before it cracked and she started snorting, laughing behind her hand at him. It just got worse when he frowned in confusion.

“Goddammit, Mac. Even when you’re as serious as I’ve ever seen you, you just can’t resist a  _ fucking _ pun.”

Now he was chuckling along with her, trying his damnedest to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

When she finally stopped giggling, she smiled at him. “So this was really just a one time thing, then? Just a mistake? You _promise_ it won’t happen again?”

“Definitely. Yeah, no, I’m… I mean, if you were ever so inclined --”

“M’hmm.”

“-- I probably wouldn’t say no, exactly, but I will definitely wait for a clear sign. Like… you climbing into my sleeping bag, for example.”

She chortled a bit but managed to get it under control. “Alright then. I’ll chalk it up to adolescent hormones, but this is your one ‘get out of jail free’ card. You feel me? No more free passes.”

“Yeah, I uh...heh, I  _ feel _ you.”

Nora rolled her eyes, “Yeah, about that, most women don’t actually enjoy having men attempting to pop their breast like a beach ball, okay? You might want to work on that.”

“Hey! I’ve never had any complaints before!”

“You’re nomadic, right? You probably just aren’t around to hear them.”

He huffed at her. “Anyway, what’s a beach ball?”

“Oh, God. This _fucking_ world. I _hate it here!"_ She huffed irritably, "I’m going to bed now. Goodnight, Pokey.”

_“Nooo._ You aren’t going to start calling me that around other people, are you?” He groaned at the idea of having to explain a nickname like that to a man like Hancock.

“What? It’s a cute nickname. Descriptive.”

“Boss, come on. Haven’t I suffered enough already tonight?”

“Okay, fine…  _ Bobby.” _

Mac wrinkled his nose, “That’s not much better.”

Nora frowned, licked her gloved thumb and used it to rub his cheek. “I  _ knew _ that wasn’t just a shadow… been driving me crazy all night.”

He decided to ignore the gesture entirely. “Most people just call me RJ, you know. Or Mac is fine, really.”

She shrugged and got back into her sleeping bag, “Goodnight, Bobby.”


	2. MacCready (2/3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac & Nora take on Kellogg. Happens during Chapter 5 of Walking Contradiction: 'Though she be but little, she is fierce'

“I’m tellin’ you, Nor. I have  _ seen this guy before!” _

“Uh-huh.”

“I just can’t place him.”

She sighed heavily, no doubt tired of discussing this topic for the hundredth time today. Like it was his fault she wouldn’t just believe him already. Even the damn dog had started looking at him like he was nuts.

“Okay, let’s say, for a minute, that you actually recognized a man you admit you only saw for maybe ten seconds total in the lobby of the Rex, who was wearing nondescript clothing and sunglasses…”

“Yeah.”

“And let’s posit that you have, in fact, seen the same mystery man several times in several places on several separate occasions.”

“Yeah!”

“Aren’t there hundreds, maybe even _thousands,_ of people who match that same description in the world?”

Mac adamantly shook his head, “No. No! It’s  _ him! _ It’s this same… look, I saw him back in the Capital Wasteland, too, okay? I  _ know _ I did! At least once in Rivet City! And maybe even before that, too! I just… can’t remember where exactly? But I knew him when I saw him! And he knew me, too, cause he immediately ran off when he saw me lookin’!”

“You’ve seen him back home, too. Five hundred miles away. Really?”

“Four. And yes! I totally did!”

“So you think… what, that he followed you here?”

“I dunno! Maybe!”

“Paranoid. How are you already so paranoid this young? You know, I had a neighbor kinda like you. She always thought the Reds were listening in on her private conversations through the radio. She even ripped out the one in her car. This is  _ unhealthy, _ boo-boo. You need to let it go.”

“But --”

“I feel like I’m gonna turn around one day and find you wearing a tinfoil hat.” Nora chuckled and shook her head, “You’re starting to sound like Valentine with his so-called Mysterious Stranger.”

“Nah, that’s… come on. Be serious here. A guy who just randomly shows up, helps you in battle and then bounces before he gets paid? That’s ridiculous. That’s about as real as f-freaking Santa.”

“M’hmm.”

“But this guy is real!”

“Maybe it’s just a doppelganger.”

“What? What’s that? What language is that?”

“Doppelganger? I dunno… German, maybe? It kinda sounds German.”

“Huh.”

“It was a word that meant a stranger who could be your twin. They used to say everybody on the planet had at least… seven, I think? I forget. Whatever the number originally was, it’s probably gone up now though, right? The gene pool’s a lot shallower nowadays.”

“There used to be seven people who looked identical to you?”

She shrugged, “I guess.”

“Damn. I was born at the whole wrong time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I could’ve had seven shots instead of the one I already blew!”

Nora laughed, “Kiddo, you didn’t even have the one shot. Ever.”

“Would it kill you to humor a guy? Just once? Is that too much to ask?”

“The point is, the man you saw probably just has one of those faces, you know? Somebody who looks like a lot of people. It happens. If you let it keep bothering you, you’re gonna go bonkers.”

He scowled, “I  _ know _ I know that guy.”

She sighed heavily. Again. “M’kay.”

“I do!”

_ “Sure _ you do.”

Well, now she was just being blatantly patronizing. He was gonna prove it to her though. Somehow, someday. Then she’d be sorry.

But they had other, more important shit to do today, so he decided to let it go. For now.

Mac tipped his head back and stared up at the fortified building they’d been arguing in front of for the better part of an hour. Some pre-war fort or whatever. They’d already taken out some bugs and a few turrets. Scoped out a probable way in through the parking garage. Now they just had to wait for her to get the balls to actually go inside.

“So this is the joint, huh? You’re sure?”

She turned her back on it altogether and shrugged, “Yeah, it’s the place. Pupper led me and Nick here a while ago. We tracked him. The nose knows.”

“Smart pooch. Must be part bloodhound.” He watched Dogmeat pee, for the thousandth time, on yet another corner. “Why’d you not go in then?”

She shook her head and shrugged again. “I dunno. Guess I was too scared.”

“And now you’re not?”

Her smile was equal parts sass and nerves. “Nah, now I've got my big, strong merc here to keep me safe.”

“Heh.”

“Plus, practicing on all those Gunners may have fluffed up my confidence a smidge.”

“Yeah, that was… I still don't understand how you managed to con your way in there  _ and _ convince Barnes to shut down that assaultron.” He chuckled, “You were right though about having me come up the back way. There’s no way I could’ve kept a straight face while you sweet-talked him into it. No freaking way.”

She looked away, scanning the horizon like she was checking they were clear. Just like he’d taught her. “Yeah, well… a magician never reveals their tricks, you know? Anyway, you’re a sniper. You guys just work better from a distance.”

“Remind me to bring you with me next time I hit up Arturo for an upgrade. Probably save a boatload of caps if you’re there. Might even be able to finally afford that suppressor I’ve been eyeballing.”

“Maybe. Anyway, I just feel a lot safer out here with you than with Nick. No offense to him or anything. I mean, I’ve been a fan of his for a _ long _ time. He was a detective, not a beat cop back in the day. Probably hadn’t had a weapons recertification in ages and it’s not like he’s spent a lot of time fighting since then. He was Diamond City’s handyman before he started the agency.”

“Huh. Didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. Saved the old mayor’s daughter by accident and just kinda fell back into it.”

“Ah, that’s how he got a place in DC then. I always kinda wondered. They’re so snobby about who can or can’t live inside their precious freaking Wall.”

Her head tilted a bit, “You wanted to live in Diamond City.”

“Never said that.”

“Yeah but you did want to, right?”

He kinda hated this weird ESP thing she had going on. At least when it was aimed at him. It was like she had invisible antenna that picked up on every little thing. Probably why her hair was so big and fluffy. It had to be to hide them from regular people.

“My wife did.”

“Oh.”

“She just thought… it just seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Well, sure. It’s safe and it’s got shops and a doctor and and all. It’s civilization.”

He scoffed, “Sure. Civilization.” No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice.

“They didn’t let you all stay?”

“Oh, they’d have been happy for  _ her _ to stay. Not me, though. That McDonough ass-er, jerk said they had no use for a  _ ruffian _ such as myself.”

Nora snorted at the way he rolled the R, “Ruffian. He actually used that word?”

“Yup.”

“Guy’s a bitch.”

“Yup.”

“Want me to off him for you? Cause he’s already up to strike three for me.”

“Strike three, huh?”

“Yup.” She held up her hand and counted off. “One, he was fucking rude to Piper and made threats about her little sister.”

Well… that was...  _ most _ people in the Commonwealth had been rude to Piper Wright by now. She definitely had it coming from all sides what with that paper she kept putting out. Guy was a dick for dragging an innocent kid into their beef though.

“Prick.”

“Two, the whole ghoul thing. Valentine filled me in on that. Guy causes a literal genocide and they  _ cheered _ him for it. It’s  _ sick. _ Whole damn town’s sick. If I didn’t have Shaun to think about, I’d have burned the whole place to the ground already!”

“M’hmm. I hear that.”

“Three, he completely refused to help when we needed to get into Kellogg’s house. His  _ abandoned _ house! Threatened to throw us out of the city. I had to pick the damn lock and he probably had the key in his fucking pocket!”

Well that was nuts. He honestly couldn’t imagine anyone not giving in to her if she really wanted something. There was this thing she did with her eyes that he was pretty sure somehow forced the blood right out of your brain and into your dick. Some kinda magic or voodoo or something. Every time. And if that didn’t get you, the pout and wiggle combo definitely would. Like a one-two sucker punch. They hadn’t had to pay for a single meal since they’d hit the road cause of those moves. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Commonwealth, their favorite sweetheart/general was secretly a criminally-inclined master manipulator. He was just happy to be her humble student at this point.

Maybe Hancock was right, though. Maybe McDonough really was dickless.

“What a creep.”

“Right?! And now I find out about him being rude to you!” She shook her head, “Guy steps all over people like he’s untouchable. I  _ hate _ that. I’ve  _ always _ hated guys like that. Even when I was getting paid to defend them. One day, he’s gonna go too far.” She huffed, “I offered for Piper, too, you know, but she said I shouldn’t. That it wouldn’t be right.”

“Offered what?”

“To go fix her McDonough problem.”

“For _free?”_

“Of course.”

“Huh.” He pursed his lips thoughtfully, going over the full implications of her assassinating the mayor of the largest settlement in Boston in his head before lighting a cigarette. “You’re a hell of a friend, Nor.”

“Well, we weren’t really friends yet actually. We’d only just met. I was just super pissed in the moment.”

Mac chuckled, “Maybe that’s why she declined. Probably thought you were some plant sent to get her busted or something.”

She stared off into space for a minute and then made a face. “Aw, fuck. I hadn’t even thought about that.”

“How would you have done it?”

“What?”

“Offing that stuffed shirt.”

“Oh.” She shrugged, “I dunno. Normally I’d cozy up to the guy first. Makes it a lot easier to slip a knife between someone’s ribs if you’re sitting in their lap.”

_ Normally? _ Jesus. “Makes sense.”

“But he didn’t strike me as the type. His secretary is pretty and all, but there’s nothing there. He isn’t banging her, no matter what the town thinks.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

Absolutely a dickless wonder then. Geneva was crazy hot in that ‘I’ll step on your balls and make you thank me for it’ kinda way. “So plan B?”

“He’s weak against flattery. Wants people to fawn and bribe him. Expects it. Probably just turn his greed against him. Show up in his office with a bag of caps and a celebratory bottle to toast a new lucrative relationship. Rat poison in the bottom of a cup is covered up easy enough by the taste of whiskey. Boom. Dead. Whole thing would just look like a heart attack on a man his age. Doc Sun hates him, too, so I can’t see an autopsy happening.”

Mac raised an eyebrow. For looking the way she did and all the Minutemen bullshit rhetoric she spouted at her settlers, Nora was surprisingly mercenary herself. He liked it.

“Nice.”

“Yeah, but she said no.”

He laughed at her disappointed tone. “Yeah, well, maybe I’ll say yes one day. Make it a birthday present for you or somethin’.”

She grinned at him, “Aw. I’d like that. Thanks, Bobby. You’re so thoughtful.”

“That’s true. I am a thoughtful kinda guy.” He took one last puff and tossed his cigarette. “So? We doin’ this or are we just gonna shoot the sh- uh, I mean, hang out here all day? Cause I’m cool either way.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re doin’ it. I just gotta… you know.”

“Yeah.”

“Gotta psych myself up first.”

“Sure.”

“Right. Okay.” She frowned thoughtfully and took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s head inside. I’m gonna… I think I’m gonna talk about Nate a little. If that’s okay. I think it’ll help.”

Mac sucked in a breath and let his mind go calm and serious. This was no time to be a smartass. “That’s okay. Probably a good idea. Talk it out, boss. Remember exactly what this bastard took from you. Get good and mad about it.”

“Okay.” Her hands tightened around her musket and she started heading towards the parking garage. “He was… Nate was...”

He frowned at the back of her head as she trailed off. There was a wobble to her voice he didn’t like. It might still be too hard for her to say his name. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say the stuff out loud if you don’t wanna.”

“No. No, I wanna. I... I gotta keep his memory alive. I’m the only one who can do it.”

“Alright. I’m still listening.”

They entered the building and headed down. “That last day. October. He was… he was really nervous. He had to give a speech at the Veteran’s Hall. Nate was _never_ nervous. He’d never had a reason to be, so… it was cute, you know? I kept teasing him about it. I made Codsworth play a recording of a stadium cheering every time he finished reciting it.”

“I was used to talking in front of crowds because of my job, but the last time he’d been the center of attention like that was in high school on a football field, so…” She paused when a feral started crawling out of a car.

Mac took the shot. “So?”

Nora stared at it’s corpse for a while before moving on. “So he was just nervous, was all. He had a lot to say about the war and everything. He wanted them to take it seriously. I’d offered to help write the speech, but he said it was something he had to do himself. He’d been mumbling things under his breath for weeks. Rehearsing constantly.”

“Shaun was… teeny still. He’d just started sleeping longer than an hour at a time. We were both so grateful for that.” She laughed, “I’d begun to feel like I was never going to sleep again, you know? Newborns.”

His heart hurt just a little but he nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’d been working on a sketch of them forever. Usually I can just whip stuff out, but for some reason drawing them was so hard. I wanted to put so much into it. Nate was a fine model, but Shaun would get squirmy after a few minutes, so it was slow going.”

“It was a pretty day. Bright blue skies and sunshine. Warm for so late in the year. He asked if I’d like to go to the park. Our park. Boston Common. It’s where um… it’s where we’d made Shaun, actually. Kinda became our little inside joke. Every time we saw somebody in that gazebo, we’d giggle about it. I had this sudden inspiration and thought it would be hilarious to draw them sitting in the gazebo. Hang it on the wall. It’d be something that looked so innocent and wholesome to everybody else, but we’d know. That was kinda our thing. We liked being subversive together on the down low.”

Mac chuckled, “Sounds about right.”

“He’d grown up in the most... he… it was like  _ Lassie. _ Or a Norman Rockwell painting. His childhood was so pure and amazing. I didn’t even know people actually lived like that in real life until I met him. I’d thought it was all bullshit. Just stories. I guess I kinda corrupted him a little.” She shrugged, “He never seemed to mind it though.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

Nora laughed a little. “Yeah… anyway, we decided to go to the park. I think he just needed to get out of the house. Out of his own head. He wanted to take some pictures of the leaves and pond and all that. Said I should get dressed up. Get a little fancy for it. He always said I was his favorite thing to photograph.” They finally made it through an unlocked steel door into the fort itself and she paused. “Then Codsworth said we needed to come into the living room. That there was something on the news we should see.”

Mac laid his hand on her shoulder and she jumped. “Shh. You can keep going, but there’s no telling what kinda security this jerk has set up. So be quiet about it.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

She whispered at Dogmeat, "Pupper, stay behind Uncle Bobby for me."

The three of them crept up the stairs and Mac kept his ears open for any indication of movement. There was an odd noise on the floor above them, like muffled metal on concrete. He grabbed her pack and brought her down into a crouch beside him.

“Something’s up there.”

“Probably a synth if he’s really with the Institute.”

“Most of ‘em I’ve heard about look like Valentine, you know, so… don’t freak out.”

“Right.”

There was a monitor on the wall ahead of them next to a protectron pod. She pointed at it, “I’m gonna see what that does.”

“You know computers?”

“Not really.”

“Perfect.” He reluctantly let her go anyway and kept his rifle at the ready, just in case.

She carefully eased up the last few steps and looked around the corner. The thudding footsteps Mac had originally heard seemed to be going in a loose circle. She waited until they were headed in the opposite direction before slinking over and accessing the terminal.

Almost immediately a robotic voice rang out, “Is someone present?”

_ “Shit!” _

_ “Shh!” _ She typed furiously for a few moments and then jumped back, returning to Mac’s position. Almost laying flat in her efforts to be hidden.

“What the hell did you do?”

_ “Shh!” _

The familiar sound of a protectron pod decompressing began and she grinned at him as their new walking decoy emerged.  “Protect and serve.”

He grinned back, “Nice.”

“You owe eight caps in the swear jar so far today, just so you know.”

“Shut up.”

She chuckled and they watched it wander away, listening to the sounds of lasers being fired as soon as it got around the corner. “God, Nate probably would’ve loved this. Robots duking it out. It’s kinda like a sci-fi movie, right?”

Mac snorted, “Right, except we don’t get to be in space and we might die. So that’s cool. Oh, and there’s no popcorn, so that sucks.”

“I’ll get you some damn popcorn when we’re done. Anyway, you probably wouldn’t like space even if we did get to go. I’ve heard it’s super cold or super hot. Nothing in between.”

“Hey, you’ve got those plasma grenades, right?”

“Sure, in my pack. Wait, are synths weak against those? Is that why you wanted me to buy them so damn bad?”

“Of course it was, ding-dong.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know!”

“Why’d you think we were getting them?”

“I just thought you liked cool explosions!”

He opened her pack while they waited and dug out a few for his pockets and hers. “God, you really are a ding-dong.”

“I am not!”

“Protect and --” A metal clang and then a small explosion signaled their protectron buddy had bit the dust.

“Oh, no. Poor robot.”

“Yeah, he died doin’ what he loved. Protectin’ and servin’.”

Nora giggled and then assumed a very solemn tone, “Rest in peace, noble robot. You who’s inflexible persistence in what you regarded as public duty will forever be emblazoned on our hearts.”

“The f-heck was that?”

“Part of Abraham Lincoln’s eulogy. I may have paraphrased a little.”

“Smarty pants. You know, Hancock’s super into that kinda crap, too. I bet you guys would get along.”

She winked, “Oh, we do. Who do you think suggested I hire you, genius?”

His eyes narrowed, “Is that why I struck out? Cause he’s already tappin’ that?”

“No! We’re just friends. Just like you and I are just friends.”

“Oh, thank God. I was worried I was gonna get neutered next time we hit Goodneighbor.”

“It’s always an option. You’d probably live longer.”

“Shut up.”

“What? It’s true!”

He leveled the flattest look he could manage at her and shoved some grenades into her pockets. “Ready up. We’re about at the fun part.”

Clearing an entire floor full of synths and surprise turrets turned out being a lot less fun than even Mac had assumed it would be. The whole place was a mess and they kept getting caught out by somewhat less than convenient holes in the plaster around them. Took almost two hours by the time he was absolutely certain there wasn’t anything trying to be slick and get the jump on them. Dogmeat performed the final check and after a tense ten minutes, trotted back to their position by the elevator.

Nora watched him approach and gave him a pat when he got to them. “Okay. We’re good.”

Mac snorted and slid down the wall, sitting on the ruined carpet. “What, you got a psychic link with the dog? Are you the lost Unstoppable?”

“No, of course not.” She flopped down next to him and dug out the first aid kit from her pack. “Just look at him. See how happy and calm he is?”

He looked over at the dog who was now thoroughly licking his own nuts. “Yeah, I’d probably be a lot happier and calmer if I could do that.”

“Well, start practicing.”

His laugh was cut short when the icy sting of disinfectant hit his arm.  _ “Ow!” _

“Oh, stop. You big baby.”

_“I’m_ the baby?! You’re the one who insisted we take a break and fix it in the first place! I was fine with goin’ on.”

“Yeah, and then what happens to me when your arm falls off from gangrene or something? Hmm? Like I’m gonna let the merchandise just stay roughed up. Come on now.”

“Oh, I’m the merchandise now, huh?”

“Well, I did pay for you, right? I kinda own you.”

Mac smirked at her, “You could own a lot more of me if you wanted, ya know.”

“Yes, I know. You tell me all the time. Now hush.”

He huffed and tilted his head over to his other shoulder since it was as far away as he could get at the moment. “You’re so mean to me.”

“M’hmm.”

“Always makin’ fun.”

“Yup.”

“You know I’m in my prime, right? And you’re just gonna waste it.”

Nora finally began bandaging the laser burn on his arm and chuckled, “Boo-boo, you’re barely in your twenties. Your prime is still a good ten to fifteen years out.”

“Bull.”

“Nope. Trust me, if there’s one thing I know, it’s men.” Her grin was naughty enough to have him wishing he’d lied to her about his age in the beginning. “But I’ll make a deal with you, okay?”   


“What kinda deal?”

She started packing up, “If you can get through this without dying on me, I will give you a bonus.”

“A bonus?”

“Yup.”

“What kinda bonus?”

She finally got everything shoved back into her back, closed it and sighed heavily before leaning in, just a few inches away from his face. “I will agree to  _ one _ kiss. Okay? Does that sound good?”

Damn, her eyes were pretty. He’d been to Oasis once with a caravan he’d been guarding and remembered staring in wonder at the sun shining through the leaves. That’s what her eyes reminded him of. Dappled sunshine.

“Y-yeah. Good.”

“Okay. But you gotta  _ live, _ remember? That’s the important part.” She got up and dusted off her pants before picking up her gear.

“Yeah. Totally.”

“And no tongue.”

Mac scowled and let her help pull him up, “There’s always a catch with you.”

“Hey, I’m already doing this out of the goodness of my heart, alright? Stop complaining.”

“Pfft.”

“You know how weird it’s gonna be for me? You’re practically my little brother made over and I gotta kiss you like I totally don’t notice the insane resemblance. So… you know, be grateful for once.”

He followed her into the elevator and waited until Dogmeat joined them before hitting the button. “Your little brother?  _ Really? _ Jeez.”

“You and Alex don’t look a thing alike, but inside? Almost identical.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he must’ve been a hell of a guy then.”

Nora laughed a little, “Yeah. He was. I guess you’re more… the man he could’ve been. He uh… I lost him. Med-X. He just couldn’t stop. The pain, you know.”

He hated how sad she sounded at the end. All the regret and pain in her eyes. Mac took her hand and squeezed it. “Was he a vet, too? Like Nate?”

“No, he wasn’t. It… it wasn’t a physical pain or anything. He just… he was too nice and too smart for the world we lived in. That’s all.”

Mac mulled that over for a moment and then grinned, “You think I’m nice?”

“Yeah, I do.” She lifted his hand up and kissed the back of it before letting him go. “Now let’s go end this fucker, shall we?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

Another floor full of turrets and synths had Mac rolling his eyes as they went down a set of stairs, deeper into the facility. “Guy’s kinda a one-trick wonder, isn’t he? Turrets and synths, turrets and synths. _Over_ and _over._ Pfft. I’m almost disappointed.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Guy’s got a rep like you wouldn’t believe. I really thought we’d be busting our butts on this one but nah. Maybe it was all talk.”

“All hat and no cattle, as Nate would’ve said.”

“Sure, yeah.”

They were confronted with a security gate and just as Nora stepped towards it, a voice came over the old intercom system.

“Well, if it isn’t my old friend, the frozen TV dinner.”

Mac nearly jumped out of his skin, _ “Shit! _ Is that his  _ voice?! _ Guy straight up  _ sounds _ like a villain! I don’t sound like that, do I?”

She didn’t answer. Just tipped her head up towards the nearby speaker and stared at it. If looks could kill, the entire building would be rubble by now.

“Last time we met, you were cozying up to the peas and apple cobbler.”

“And _you_ were being a fucking coward stealing a baby and shooting a defenseless man in cold blood, you goddamn piece of shit motherfucker.”

“Whoa, boss. Settle. I don't even think he can hear you.”

“Sorry your house has been a wreck for two hundred years. But I don't need a roommate. Leave.”

“Fucking make me.” She stomped over to the door and tore the spring trap off it before throwing it open, stomping right through the sparks and plasma given off by the triggered tesla arc like they weren't even happening.

“Hey! Nora, wait!” Mac and Dogmeat took their chances and ran through the lightning as fast as they could. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up as a bolt zinged right past them. Not a fun feeling. He grabbed her arm as soon as they caught up and made her stop. “You gotta pull it together. Okay? He’s trying to mess with your head, right? Don’t let him. Don’t give him that satisfaction. He’s just a sad old man and he knows he’s about to eat it. Just hold onto that.”

_ “Let me go!” _ She snarled it at him and he reflexively dropped her arm.

He’d seen less threatening looks on charging yao guai.

“Okay. Sorry. Just… don’t run off on me. I’m helping you, remember?”

“I’m…” The anger faded, just a little, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Bobby. This guy just… the last time I heard that voice, he’d just murdered Nate and… and they just walked away with my baby and --”

“I know. I know he did. I know you’re mad and upset." She went all teary-eyed suddenly and he immediately backed up. _"Whoa,_ no, ma’am!  _ Do not cry!  _ Nora, I swear to God, if you start, then I’m gonna start, and then Dogmeat will get all upset! Then that bastard'll really be laughing at us.”

She laughed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Sorry. Sometimes if I get mad enough, I cry.”

“So they’re not like, sad tears?”

“No.”

“Okay. Angry crier… alright, I guess that’s… normal? Is that normal?”

“My therapist always said it was.”

“Well, there you go.”

Dogmeat leaned against her leg and whined.

Nora smiled at him, “I’m okay, buddy. I’ll just be a lot more okay once we get this guy.”

“Yeah. Exactly. We’re gonna put him down and then we’re gonna party, okay? Big party! All the food we can eat. Get crazy drunk. It’ll be great.”

“Yeah.” She sniffled one last time and smiled at him, “Yeah, I’d like that. So does that mean you’re um… you’re planning on sticking around after all this then?”

Mac gave her a half smile and not-so-gently flicked her forehead, laughing when she scowled. “Course I am, dummy. It’s not… this isn’t just a job anymore. Not to me. Anyway, what kinda jerk just walks away from his sister, right?”

She beamed at him and gave him a hug, which he was more than happy to return. “I still gotta pay you though, right?”

“Damn straight you do.”

“Always a catch.”

By the time they reached the final showdown, Mac was pretty damn tired of Kellogg running his mouth the whole time. First with that whole ‘oh, you mean you’re not dead yet’ bullshit and then just endless talking down to her. Like she wasn’t doing an amazing job mowing down all his defenses. Shit, he’d barely even been able to get a shot off the way she was chucking grenades at anything that moved.

He highly doubted if Kellogg had been some pre-war jagoff, he would’ve learned this shit as fast as Nora did. Wouldn’t have picked it up like it was nothing. She was ruthless and fast and amazing. Her learning curve had been crazy steep but she’d mastered everything he’d taught her. So either she was a natural born killing genius, or he was some kind of super teacher.

Maybe he should open a school or something. MacCready’s School for Wayward Mercenaries. Kinda had a certain ring to it. Professor MacCready sounded kinda dapper, too.

They made their way through some kind of living quarters. Looked pretty ritzy to his eyes. Whoever they’d originally made it for, they’d been important. There was even a small room for guards to sleep in and even _it_ was nice.

“This would make a choice place for our party. I’ve got at least six packs of Fancy Lads in my bag and a bottle of rum with your name on it.”

“How’d you know I like rum?”

“It’s only in every drink you order, Nor. I’m not blind, ya know.”

“Oh.” She stopped and looked at him suspiciously, “Wait, you must’ve bought all that days ago. You weren’t planning on getting me liquored up for nefarious purposes, were you?”

“Well… what’s important here is I’m not anymore. Now this is totally just a friendly party between two friendly people.”

“M’hmm.”

“Honest.”

“You better hope it is, cause my dog _won’t_ be drunk, so… remember that.”

Shit. “I uh… it’s not a problem. Nope. Wasn’t gonna do a thing.” Definitely wasn’t gonna now.

“Hmm.” She continued on and opened a door. The room inside must have originally been some kind of stage. There was a TV camera and a microphone set up, American banners and flags everywhere. Some big, official-looking seal on the area rug.

There was also a small, pristine bed that looked like it belonged about five hundred years in the future. Beside it was an equally clean table full of medical paraphernalia and chems.

“Oh, God. Oh, _God._ What did he do to Shaun? What if I’m too late?”

Mac set his hand on her shoulder, “Don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe this set up was for Kellogg.”

_ “Look at how small the bed is, Bobby!” _

Yeah, that was some pretty damning evidence. “So maybe the guy’s… petite?”

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to make him suffer for what he did and then I’m gonna murder that asshole!”

“Yup. You are. Just a little further, okay?” He had no fucking idea if this bastard was nearby or not, but it seemed like the right thing to say.

“Yeah.” She finally stopped staring at the bed and switched her attention to a nearby door. It was magnetically sealed and she frowned. “How’re we getting past that?”

Mac had just taken a step towards it to check out what model the lock was when Kellogg’s voice came over the loudspeaker again.

“Okay, you made it. I'm just up ahead. My synths are standing down. Let's talk.”

He turned back to Nora as the door opened, “Uh… open sesame?”

She somehow managed to laugh. “Good job, Bobby.”

He hadn’t actually done anything, but he got her not wanting to give any credit of any kind to Captain Asshole. “Thanks, boss. I do what I can.”

She took the lead again and he, then Dogmeat, followed. Kellogg, true to his word, was standing defenseless in the next room, along with his idle synths. Mac recognized it as the seemingly inaccessible command center from earlier in their tour. They’d walked right past it, but he was sure it had been empty then. That was good. Maybe the guy hadn’t had a chance to set up any traps yet.

He looked tough. Old. Grizzled. Had that big, flashy scar on his face. Mac prayed to whoever was listening that Nora wouldn’t just march right up to him and actually breathed a sigh of relief when she stopped a good twenty yards out.

She was pissed, but she wasn’t so far gone that she’d forgotten their game plan. That was a good sign.

He leaned forward a bit and whispered loudly, “That’s the guy?” He knew damn good and well that was the guy by how still she’d gone. The way she practically radiated murderous intent. Mac just wanted to remind her he was there.

“Yeah. That’s the guy.” It came out a low snarl and Dogmeat quietly answered with his own growling.

Kellogg smiled at them, “And there she is. The most resilient woman in the Commonwealth.”

“You murdering, kidnapping psychopath. Give me my son. Give me Shaun! _Now!”_

He chuckled at her and Mac wanted to take the shot right then and there. “Right to it, huh? Okay. Fine.” He shrugged, “Your son, Shaun. Great kid. A little older than you may have expected, but I'm guessing you figured that out by now. But if you're hoping for a happy reunion? Ain't gonna happen. Your boy's not here.”

“So where is he then? You murdered my husband, you  _ stole my baby! _ The least you can do is tell me where he is!”

“Your husband. That was... a regrettable accident. Still --”

“It was  _ not _ an accident!”

“-- this world, this life? You've seen it. Pain, suffering. Death is its only escape. But don't worry. Shaun's fine. So maybe he's not quite a baby anymore. But he's doing great. Only... he's not here. Nowhere near here, to be honest. He's with the people pulling the strings.”

“No one wants to hear your stupid monologue! Nobody cares! Just tell me where he is and I’ll go get him myself.”

He shook his head, “Let him go. Your time's done. Your son is exactly where he belongs. He's home. In the Institute.”

Nora took a deep, shuddering breath. “Fine. Then you're going to take me to him. Right now.”

“Take you to him?” He laughed and it almost sounded helpless to Mac’s ears. Not as cruel as it ought for the shit that was falling out of his mouth. “Like I could, even if I wanted to. Don't you get it? Your son, he's in a place nobody can reach.”

“Then where is it? Huh? This so-called Institute? How do I get there?”

“Heh. Haven't you been paying attention? You don't find the Institute. The Institute finds you. You open the closet, it's just a closet. You can never find the monster that hides inside. Not until it jumps out at you.”

“I don’t care. I don’t care if he’s on the fucking moon, I'll find him. No matter where he is. No matter how long it takes. Nothing will stop me.”

He smiled again, “Ha! That's the spirit. You know, you surprise me, I have to admit. I find myself actually kind of... liking you. I admire your dedication. You're  _ persistent. _ I give you credit. It's the way a parent should act. The way I'd be acting if I were in your place, I like to think. Even if it is useless. In another life, you probably would have been a good mother. But here... in this terrible reality? You just don't get that chance.” He sighed and pulled a revolver from the holster on his hip. “But I think we've been talking long enough. We both know how this has to end. So... you ready?”

Nora settled into the fighting stance Mac had shown her and raised her musket, “In a hundred years, when I finally die, I only hope I go to hell just so I can kill you all over again you piece of shit."

Kellogg gave them one last smirk and suddenly rippled out of sight. Mac’s eyes went wide and he tried to follow the displaced energy given off by the stealth field but lost him. “Shit! Stealth boy! Nora, get down!”

She rolled behind a bank of file cabinets and he shot at where he was pretty sure Kellogg might be, but missed. The synths started firing their pistols and he quickly joined Nora behind her makeshift shield.

“Okay, well. We’re changing the plan.” He waited for her nod and then continued, “He’s probably gonna go after you first, so I want you to move down to the end of this row and then stay put. Dogmeat can guard. Stealth boys don’t have any effect on a dog’s nose, so if he gets his hackles up, you run, alright? I’m gonna pick off these toys of his. By the time I’m back, his stupid stealth boy should be all outta juice and then we can nail him. Sound good?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. Just… be careful. If you went and got yourself killed --”

“I’d never get my kiss, right? Yeah, yeah. I remember.” Adrenaline had flooded his brain already. He felt unstoppable and snarky, just like he always did in battle. No time for her mushy stuff right now. “Dogmeat! Get over here!”

The dog slunk over under the veritable wall of laser fire and whined at them.

“You know what the asshole smells like. Keep her safe.”

He took off, keeping low and firing off a few rounds from his pistol just to draw their fire. It worked a little too well as he suddenly found himself facing a whole posse of plastic bastards. Mac nailed one in the forehead and rolled a plasma grenade while they were focused on returning the favor. It bounced along the floor and finally landed almost square in the center of their pack.

Mac laughed at them, “Have something for ya!”

He leapt over a desk and covered his head as the explosion took out not only the synths, but a good third of his hearing. Allowing himself a half second for a self-satisfied chuckle, he switched back to scanning for Kellogg. There was a slight shimmer walking towards the row where Nora was hiding. He was pretty sure anyway.

Before he could argue with himself over what a terrible idea it was, he was on his feet, firing round after round towards the wobble in the light. “Hey! Hey, asshole! Over here, buddy!”

The stealth field finally dissolved and Mac was treated to another smirk as Kellogg raised his revolver. He immediately went to fire his rifle and was met with a click.

“Nickel's worth of free advice, kid. Always remember to count your shots.”

Mac knew his pistol was on his hip. Knew his pocket was still full of explosives. Knew none of that mattered because there was no way in hell he was going to be able to grab anything fast enough to defend himself. All he could think about was Duncan. His chest tightened at the realization that he’d failed not only his wife, but his son, too.

He closed his eyes.

The ridiculous sound of Nora’s musket going off had him opening them. Kellogg still had his revolver raised, but he’d pivoted toward the filing cabinets. There was a burn mark on his thigh from where she’d hit him. Mac’s feet finally decided to move again and he was somehow over the desk and running towards them when the second shot went off. Right in the guy’s heart. He skidded to a stop.

Kellogg took a few stumbling steps back and stared down at his chest. “What the hell?” Then his eyes rolled back in his head. His gun belatedly went off as he crashed backward onto the floor.

Mac stared unblinking at the other merc’s corpse for a few seconds and then whooped. “Yeah!  _ Fuck _ yeah! We did it! You did it! Nor! That was--” He finally came around the corner and froze again.

Nora was braced against a cabinet, panting a little, too pale and already shaking. “H-hey, Bobby. I’m… uh…” The hand that had been pressed against her hip lifted and blood, bright and terrible, poured from out a hole blown through her armor. “Whoops.”

He caught her before she collapsed, but just barely. “Shit.  _ Shit, _ what happened? Y-you got him! I saw it! What…” Panic was racing through him and he tried to shake it off. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry. I’ve got you, Nor.”

He lifted her off the floor and grunted a little when it took a lot more effort than he'd assumed it would. He’d never given it much thought but it would make sense that she’d weigh more than your average woman. He still managed, somehow, and brought her back into the living quarters they’d passed. The little bed was small, but it was clean, and that’s all that mattered.

Mac set her down as carefully as he could and used his combat knife to tear the armor off her thigh. The leather beneath was shredded and burned, and he allowed himself a small whimper of dismay. There was no exit wound. The bullet was still in there. Possibly lodged in her hip bone. Probably shattered into a bajillion pieces. He couldn’t just use a stimpak.

She coughed and almost threw up. Her body lurched before he could stop it. A fresh wave of blood rose up from the wound. Mac immediately put his hands over it and pressed down as hard as he could.

“Bobby…”

He shook his head and ignored how weak her voice sounded. Ignored how wobbly his vision was and the way drops of water kept hitting his hands.

“Bobby… ‘s important.”

“Nor, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. Lucy. My wife’s name was Lucy. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now. She was a doctor, Nor. Super smart. Super... she... I dunno _why_ she married me. She showed me what to do. I used to help her all the time. I can --- I can do this. I can do this! I just gotta… gotta slow stuff down a little and… I’ve got a kit. One of Lucy’s old kits. In my bag. It’s gonna be okay.”

Her hand grabbed his sleeve and he finally made himself make eye contact with her.

“God, Nora, I’m so sorry. I’m so… you hired me to take care of you and I --”

_ “Shh.” _

“No, I -- this is my fault! It’s _always_ my fault!”

She frowned at him, cloudy eyes and all, and tugged. It would’ve been all too easy to shake her off with how weak she already was, but he couldn’t. Mac leaned down so she could whisper in his ear.

“Bobby… you owe forty-six caps to the swear jar.” She managed to give him a small almost-smirk and promptly passed out.

_ “Fuck.” _


	3. MacCready 3/3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac & Nora deal with the aftermath of their battle and Mac learns a secret...the hard way.
> 
> Still takes place during Chapter 5 of Walking Contradiction and does contain spoilers for chapters 16-17 & 28!

It took Mac thirty minutes with Lucy’s old magnetic forceps before he was pretty sure he’d gotten all of the shattered .44 bullet out of Nora’s hip. He’d had to cut off her pants, and then also the ridiculously fancy pair of panties she was sporting underneath. He’d done his best to keep his eyes averted (most of the time… as much as possible, anyway) and draped a sheet over her for modesty’s sake while he worked.

For the first time in their relationship, he was less than a foot away from her and not thinking about sex. It felt weird.

Unfortunately though, without having access to an x-ray machine, he had no idea if he  _ had _ actually gotten the entire bullet out. .44s were always heavy. They had to be. He’d once read in  _ Guns and Bullets _ that they could take down an elk, which if Lamplight educational holos were to be believed, had once been giant, hulking creatures that would've probably been more comfortable in the modern, gigantism-soaked, mutated world than pre-war. The only reason Nora was even alive still was because Kellogg hadn’t actually been aiming the damn thing when it had gone off. If he’d managed to hit her in the chest, or God forbid, her pretty little head, well…

He scowled to himself. He didn’t want to even _think_ about the what ifs.

The point was, Kellogg was an expert and experts almost always made their own custom ordinance. He sure as shit did. Every merc he’d ever known did. So he had no way of knowing if there was something special about this round. It could look normal and still house any number of terrible bits inside. Who the fuck knew? Plus this guy had access to the Institute. Damn bullet could have tech in it Mac wouldn’t recognize even if he did see it.

So he still couldn’t use a stimpak.

Lucy had once told him that if you stimpaked a wound without being absolutely, completely sure that it was clean first, infection could set in. Inflammation would start. Then a fever. Then chills. In the worse case scenarios, the flesh could rot away entirely and make you go septic. That gangrene shit Nora had teased him about earlier was no joke. It could kill you just as easy as a bullet could.

So he wasn’t taking any chances.

He’d done what he could using Lucy’s home-brewed antiseptic and the stitching supplies she’d always insisted he have on hand. Gently pulling the torn flesh together before applying a protective layer of gauze on top, carefully taped into place while he tried to not be distracted by where his hands actually had to be to get it done.

If she made it through the night without a fever, and through tomorrow with no sign of infection or irritation,  _ then _ they could use a stimpak. If not, he’d give her the biggest dose of antibiotics he could (provided she wasn’t allergic to penicillin and he was _really_ hoping she wasn’t), and he’d be running his ass as fast as he could to go grab the nearest doctor. A real one.

The only problem with that plan was the nearest doc around was back in Diamond City. Which was forever away. Fort Hagen had been built on the outskirts of Boston purposefully, which had probably been a swell idea at the time but was now kinda biting him in the ass. It’d be at least a couple of hours travel to get there and God only knew how long it would take to convince Doctor Sun (or worse, that creep Crocker) to come back out here with him.

Mac sat at her bedside for a while after he cleaned up. Almost an hour. Just trying to get his breathing under control and resisting the urge to go destroy half the building. He had a lot of pent up rage now and absolutely nothing to expend it on. He wanted to go kick Kellogg’s corpse a few times, but that wouldn’t actually  _ do _ anything for anybody. Probably wouldn’t even make him feel better.

Especially when he was mostly angry with himself.

She never should have been shot. She never should have been here in the first place. Letting her waltz in there had been a huge mistake. He’d thought it was better to let her get her revenge while he provided backup, but that was stupid. The whole thing had been _stupid._ They’d let Kellogg lead them right into his inner sanctum. Let him have the upper hand the whole damn time.

What was  _ wrong _ with him? He’d even let her step up to the plate with that stupid, ridiculous, ineffective musket just because she’d pouted at him when he’d told her to sell the damn thing and get something that was actually worth a shit. That was…

He sighed. He was an idiot. She’d hired him because  _ he _ was the expert. Because he knew what he was doing out here. Because he knew how to survive the wastes. He should have told her to stuff it, no matter how adorable she looked or how pretty her eyes were when she was batting her eyelashes at him, and reminded her of that fact whenever she pulled her bullshit.

Maybe if he hadn’t been so damn focused on getting into her pants, he’d have been able to do the job she’d actually hired him for.

Well, he’d gotten into them now, hadn’t he? Not at all the way he’d wanted, but no one could deny he hadn’t gotten there. Mac ran his hands through his hair and shook his head in frustration with himself. He needed to work on that. Stop letting little Mac make the decisions for them both, or it was gonna get somebody killed.

Or get him killed. He wasn’t sure which was worse.

He also felt bad because she’d woken up around the time he’d pulled the second big chunk of lead from her body. Gasping and panicked until she saw his face. He’d explained what was happening, what had to happen, what he had to do. She’d nodded along, bravely enduring the pain, unable to speak, right up until he’d brought out the Med-X. Then the fight had begun.

He got it. He really did. Med-X had stolen her brother from her. Maybe addiction even ran in her family. Shit, maybe she’d had a problem with it herself, he didn’t fucking know. All that sucked.

But it would suck a whole lot more if she started trembling or thrashing because of the pain of him digging around in her. It could hurt her more than she already was. He could slip and hit something really important, like an artery or whatever. Maybe. He honestly had no idea where most of those were. That had been Lucy’s job.

It had been a judgement call and he’d been the only one in the room still capable of making it. She was at least a few pints short by then, clearly delirious and not thinking straight. So despite her crying, despite the repeated no’s, despite the way she’d tried clawing at him while he held her down and slid the needle into her vein, he’d done it.

He’d felt dirty ever since, but he’d done it.

It just wasn’t really in him to ignore when a woman said no. He knew plenty of assholes did shit like that, but he wasn’t one of them. Part of why he’d left the Gunners. Their policy of only respecting women who wore their own colors was bullshit. Shaking down people for caps was one thing. Hurting defenseless women like they almost always did was… well, it was fucking disgusting, is what it was. Between that and what he’d heard had gone down in Quincy, leaving them had been one of the easiest decisions of his life. Regardless of how good the pay had been or all the intimidation bullshit that had followed.

He took one last deep breath and let it out from between his lips in a loud, wet raspberry, belatedly wincing at how it broke the silence in the otherwise quiet room. Dogmeat looked over at him from his spot on the floor. His fluffy head tilted just a little as he studied him, one ear quirked up like he was waiting for him to speak.

Mac stared back. Come to think of it, the dog hadn’t tried to attack him when he’d dosed Nora. That was… weird. The pain and terror in her voice when she’d been begging him to stop was enough that his stomach was still in knots over it. But Dogmeat had just sat there, calm as you please, and…

His eyes narrowed, “You’re a fucking alien, aren’t you?” Dogmeat’s head tilted the other way and Mac sighed. “Well, you’re something. You’re not just a dog though. I know that at least. When the mothership finally gets here, remember all those times I snuck you Fancy Lads, alright?”

This room was uncomfortable to him. Weirdly unnerving. Mac felt like the camera was filming them even though he knew it wasn’t on. He’d even gone the extra step of unplugging it just to be sure. Nora would probably be upset once she actually woke up and realized she was on the bed Kellogg may or may not have tortured her son on.

He stood and stretched, “Watch her for me, alright? Anything changes, bark.”

Mac wasn’t even surprised when Dogmeat got up, came over and put his head on the bed. His nose just barely touching Nora’s hand. He scoffed at the blatantly un-doglike behavior and went further back into the living quarters.

The bed set up for Sargent Stick-up-his-butt or whoever it was supposed to have been for would work. Thing was huge. Two mattresses side by side on it. Nora could have one and he could have the other so he could keep an eye on her. There was a terminal on the wall, too, but the damn thing was locked. He’d never been good with computers.

There was a clean set of sheets still tucked away in one of the nearby dressers. He made her side of the bed and even found a pillow for both of them to use. It was getting downright swanky up in here. He wished they could still have their party, but she was going to be on strictly water for a while. Plus, it’s not like he could get drunk with her hurt and all.

He couldn’t even imagine the ass-whooping she’d give him if she woke up and he was passed out or whatever. She’d never let him live it down.

Dogmeat was still where he’d left him when he got back, and he watched him with suspicious eyes as the dog sat down and wagged his tail at his approach.

What was the endgame here? Were aliens watching how humans behaved through the dog? Or was this one of those Twilight Zone things where the dog was sent to pass judgement on everybody? If he was rude to Dogmeat, would the planet be obliterated?

Mac decided to not risk it.

“Thanks, buddy. Good job. Now we just gotta figure out how to move her there.” He puzzled over it and walked around the little bed before he finally realized the damn thing had wheels. “That’ll do it. Looks like we finally caught a break today. Goddamn miracle.”

It took him a few minutes to figure out how to work the release on the brakes, but after that, wheeling her into the other room was no trouble at all. Of course, he still had to move her onto the bed without tearing those stitches. Which naturally had to be in the most awkward place ever.

How the hell was he supposed to pick her up without her bending at the hip?

Mac folded his arms and tapped his foot a little as he thought it out. He knew Lucy had some system just for this, he just couldn’t remember how she’d done it, exactly. He could remember helping her to lift a sheet and…

Ah. He had it now.

It rumpled the fitted sheet a bit, but he got her slid over onto the new mattress and made sure she was as settled as he could make her before he wheeled the bed back into its room.

She still had that leather jacket on. That couldn’t possibly be comfortable to sleep in, right?

He sat on the bed next to her and eased her up a little before working on tugging her jacket off. It reminded him of nights when Duncan had fallen asleep playing in his own coat. Having to manipulate a completely limp body out of their clothes was stupid hard. Even harder when that body was as big as your own.

“Ya know, this would be a lot easier if you were a toddler, Nor.”

She grumbled a little in her sleep and he grinned at the sound. Still feisty, even when unconscious.

Lucy would’ve loved her.

Jacket finally removed, he figured her shirt would be fine. It was flannel, which would keep her warm, and soft so wouldn’t bother her while she slept. He was definitely  _ not _ taking off her bra. No, sir. No way. Even he knew better than that.

But she was pretty much naked from the waist down and he had no earthly idea how to fix that problem without making it so much worse first. In the end, he decided the best thing to do was make sure her lady-bits stayed covered and draped his duster over her for warmth. She’d probably really appreciate that when she woke up. That he hadn’t been some asshole feeling her up or anything.

Besides, her wound was right where the cute little bundle of ribbons had been tied in a bow keeping her last pair of panties on. He couldn’t very well put more fabric over it until they stimmed the damn thing.

Speaking of though,  _ hot damn _ those panties. He’d never seen anything like them. Not even in the magazines. So fucking  _ fancy _ and red and some kind of slick fabric that reflected the light.

It was a terrible tragedy to befall the world that those panties had bit the dust. Even if she’d known some magical pre-war trick to scrub all the blood out, that goddamn bullet had torn right through the fabric, completely shredding it on one side.

Just a… goddamn fucking shame. That's what it was. Almost made a man wanna cry.

The only thing left to fix before he stuffed his face full of junk food and waited for her to wake up were her gloves. He knew she had some weird thing about them. Germs or whatever. But she’d gotten them completely soaked with blood. Probably weren’t very sanitary now, were they?

Mac rummaged around in the nearby bathroom and finally found a washcloth. Her hands would be stained underneath the fabric. He could wipe them down and she could just deal with her hands being uncovered for a few hours.

Anyway, even if she got upset about it, maybe it would draw her focus away from the whole Med-X thing and the being mostly naked thing, right? Sure. Distraction. That was the name of the game when you were trying to avoid getting busted.

He tugged them off and tossed them somewhere behind him before scrubbing her down. Her hands looked soft and dainty. No callouses at all. Little pudgy fingers that, weirdly enough, kinda reminded him of his son. He pursed his lips thoughtfully while he considered it. Was that where all her extra curves came from? Baby fat? Did people just never lose that back before the war? He’d heard about the Resource Wars and all, but maybe she’d made enough cheddar defending all those mobsters to be able to afford to stay chubby.

The women in the magazines were also always a little chubby. Nary a rib bone in sight. Breasts as big as your head. Maybe that had been a sign of wealth back then. Something desirable because it practically screamed ‘I’m rich enough to keep myself fed’.

Okay, also, it just looked hot. He had no idea why. It’s not like he’d grown up with curvy women or even ever seen a curvy woman in person until Nora. But he was still into it. There was just something about it. Something luxurious and decadent. Like she somehow managed to look sinful and sexy at all times no matter what she did.

Shit, even like this, passed out and far too pale, she was pretty.

He was glad she was here with him. That she hadn’t hired some other jerkwad who would’ve taken advantage of her somehow. It probably went against the merc code and all, but even though he totally could’ve got away with it, he had zero desire to do more than look at her. He just felt like he wanted to protect her. Which was weird. Shockingly un-opportunistic for him. _Altruistic,_ even.

Well, whatever. At least he knew Lucy would be proud of him right now. That was something.

Rag tossed carelessly back into the sink, he shoved a whole pack of Dandy Boy Apples into his mouth before settling down on the mattress next to her. Sitting with his back against the wooden bed frame. He closed his eyes for a second, but it was no use. Couldn’t sleep if he tried right now. Anyway, it was barely seven o’clock according to his watch. Dogmeat decided to camp out at the room’s entrance, at the perfect location to attack an intruder should one appear. He rolled his eyes at that.

Oh, sure. Just a dog. Of  _ course _ he was.

Mac picked up Nora’s Pip-Boy and switched it over to the holo player. She’d been letting him conquer Atomic Command all week. Might as well try to best his high score while he was stuck here on his ass doin’ nothin’.

About an hour into zapping bombs out of the sky, Nora moved restlessly for a moment and her hand was suddenly on his lap. Mac wasn’t proud of it, but he nearly screamed. Smacking it back over onto her side like it was a live grenade. _Maybe_ a slight overreaction, but better safe than sorry, right?

It took him a second to realize her hands were actually  _ freezing. _ Probably just due to the blood loss, but also maybe because he’d taken off her gloves? Maybe that’s why she always wore them. Maybe they were always cold since Vault-Tec had turned her into a popsicle. It would help explain why she always got excited whenever they found tube socks, too. Her toes were probably like ice cubes in her boots now that winter was really ramping up.

Mac chewed the inside of his cheek, turning it over in his mind before he finally set the Pip-Boy aside and picked her hand back up. It wouldn’t hurt to rub the damn thing, right? A completely friendly, platonic, little brother thing to do. Innocent. It was fine. He rubbed her hand between his own and blew air on it, trying to get some warmth back into it.

She shifted again. A little line formed between her brows and she mumbled, “No…”

He shushed her, “It’s okay, Nor. It’s just me. It’s just…  _ Bobby.” _ He rolled his eyes a little at the stupid nickname she’d given him and when he opened them back up, the world had changed around him.

The whole room sparkled. Little bits of gold shining on every surface. Even Dogmeat was bedazzled with it. Mac looked down at his hands and realized he was, too. Nora, the bed… shit, even his rifle propped up against the wall looked like Tinkerbell had shown up and gone to town on it.

“What the heck is happening?” He shook his head a little, trying to dislodge the strange hallucination, but it didn’t help. If anything, it made things worse.

A man suddenly loomed in front of him. Twelve feet tall, at least, with a voice that boomed like thunder. “Come ‘ere, you little bitch!”

Mac clutched Nora’s hand tighter and flinched back, full of fear and bone-deep dread. A voice he didn’t recognize, high and childlike, felt like it came from his mouth.

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Mister Mike! Please don’t!”

He squeezed his eyes shut as the man advanced but a different voice filled the room, clearly drunk with the way the words slurred but twangy and warm. It made his insides tingle a little.

“You ready to be Missus Madison, sweetheart? Can’t believe I’mma ‘bout to be married to the cutest little thing God ever put on this green earth.  _ Finally! _ You’re as pretty as a sunflower… Sunflower.” This guy was huge, too, but he wasn’t scary. He was safe. There was safety and security here. He was grinning at him with the punch-drunk expression of somebody who wasn’t just inebriated on booze, but love, too.

Somehow he was giggling back, feeling three sheets to the wind and as full of giddy excitement as he’d been the day Lucy had married him.  _ “You’re _ as pretty as a… as… no, wait, as  _ handsome _ as a sunflower, Mister Sunflower!”

The man laughed like it was the funniest fucking thing he’d ever heard and his heart felt a few hundred pounds lighter. Like nothing could ever go wrong in his life ever again.

The apparition vanished and left a small man in its place. Thin, trembling, afraid. Even rendered in solid gold his eyes looked tired and sad.

Anger, pain, disappointment swirled within him. A lifetime’s worth of responsibility and worry suddenly snapped in his mind and transformed into nothing but frustrated, snarling rage.

_ “Get out!” _

“Nor, please. I can change. I know I can! I just need --”

“I don’t want you here! Get out right now!”

His voice was hoarse and wobbled, “Nor, I just need one more chance. I promise. I can - I can come help take care of the baby. Just like I was supposed to. I’ll --”

“No!  _ No no no no! _ Leave us alone!”

Something smooth and small was in his hand suddenly and he threw it as hard as he could at the man. It exploded into goo when it hit him in the head and he flinched from him.

“Please? Please, I’m begging you here. Please, I need your help. I can’t do it on my own.”

“No! You’re a worthless piece of shit! I’ve been trying to help you my whole fucking life! I’ve given you every chance! I can’t take care of you anymore! I can’t watch you kill yourself! Jimmy would be ashamed of you!  _ I’m _ ashamed of you! I’m done! You’re no brother of mine. How _dare_ you come here now! You stay the hell away from my family or I’ll put you out of your misery myself! I swear I will!”

Silence reigned for a moment as they stared at each other. The man looked away and seemed to shrink further in on himself.

“Okay… okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Nora.” He quietly left and Mac felt his heart break as he went.

A baby was crying and he realized he was clutching an infant to his chest. Small and beautiful. Even screaming his head off like he was.

“Shh, it’s okay. I’m sorry, honey. I’m sorry Mama yelled and scared you. It’s okay. We’re okay. Mama’s got you and we’re gonna be okay. I’m not going to let anything bad ever happen to you, Shaun. I  _ promise.” _

Sharp teeth set in his arm, jerking him sideways, and he suddenly found himself on the floor. Dogmeat whining at him. The strange golden dust settled and dissolved into nothing. Mac was panting and his face was wet with tears that weren't his. He scrambled away from the dog and sat plastered against the wall.

“The fuck was that? What the… was that you?!” He stared at Dogmeat. “Did you… no. No, wait, the guy… that guy called me Nora. That was…”

Mac stretched up a little and dared to peek at Nora’s still sleeping form. She was twitching a little, eyes darting back and forth behind her eyelids like she was dreaming. He crawled over and watched her face for a minute. She definitely _ looked _ human, right? Astronomical attractiveness aside, she was still just a… she just didn’t  _ look _ like an alien to him. And she’d had a baby. A human baby, at that. That was hard to miss.

He cautiously reached out and set his fingers against her palm, barely making contact. Little shimmering particles started shining around him again and he snatched his hand back.

_“Holy shit._ What the hell are you?”

* * *

It took her another two hours before she woke up. Bleary-eyed and grumpy looking. She tried to sit up on her elbows but quickly gave up, opting to turn her head until her eyes landed on him. Way across the room, in a chair with his rifle in his lap. Just in case.

“Bobby… what happened? Why do I hurt so much?”

She definitely sounded human, too.

Mac shrugged, “You got shot, remember?”

“Oh. Right.” She turned her head away and stared up at the ceiling. “Right, right, right. You couldn’t stimpak me cause…”

“Cause you might still have bullet fragments in you.”

“Right.” She frowned, “Did you give me something?”

“Med-X. Had to.”

“Shit.” She struggled to sit up again and managed this time, propping herself up on her elbows so she could look at him properly. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I probably fought you pretty hard, huh? If I… hurt you or whatever, I’m sorry.”

“Mmm.”

“Okay. I gotta lay back down now. Little dizzy.” She flopped back and sighed. “Can I have some water?”

“Do you need water?”

“Yeah, I’m really thirsty.”

“No, I mean, do you need water to live?”

She tilted her head back towards him, “What kinda question is that?”

“Nora.” Mac stood up and walked over to the bed, staring hard down at her. “Are you human?”

“What?”

“Are. You. Human?”

She watched him watching her and frowned suddenly. Her hands came up and she stared at them, still un-gloved.  _ “Fuck.” _

“Yeah, fuck.”

A groan escaped her and she tucked her hands against her chest, “What’d you see? What happened?”

“Sparkles. Some asshole named Mister Mike. Some other guy callin’ me Sunflower. A sad sack gettin’ his ass handed to him by you.”

“A sad sack?”

“I’m guessing it was your little brother.”

“Oh, God.” She closed her eyes. “I just thought I was dreaming.”

“Who was Mister Mike?”

She kept her eyes closed and shook her head, “Step-father.”

“Mister Sunflower?”

A small laugh escaped her, “Nate.”

“Huh.” He decided it was probably safe to set his rifle aside now. She didn’t strike him as dangerous, even outed. “So? Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“A human?”

Nora opened her eyes and looked up at him, “Some people wouldn’t think so, probably, but… yes.”

“Are you some kinda superhero?”

She smiled, “My big brother always told me I was. Or that I was gonna be, anyway.”

“So you’re not gonna like… melt my brain or something?”

“Not today. No.”

Mac chuckled and sat down next to her, “I thought you might be an alien like Dogmeat.”

“He is  _ not _ an alien.”

“Is he your super-dog then?”

“No, I told you. I found him.”

“Then he  _ could _ be an alien. How would you know?”

“Cause aliens don’t exist.”

“Ya-huh.”

“Where does this obsession come from? Who told you aliens were real?”

“The Lone Wanderer!”

“Oh, this guy again. Here we go.”

“He said he was out and about one day, just doin’ what he did, and bam! Got sucked up into a spaceship!   


“M’hmm.”

“Little green men everywhere!”

“Uh-huh.”

“He had to fight his way out! And there was a samurai and an astronaut and space lasers and --”

“Bobby, how old were you when he told you this story?”

He shrugged, “I dunno. Twelve, maybe?”

“And it never occurred to you that he might just be telling a story?”

“Sure, a  _ true _ story!”

“Doesn’t it kinda sound like a story you’d make up to entertain a twelve year old boy?”

“His buddy backed him up! Said he watched him get teleported right up into space!”

“Was his buddy the same age?”

“Well, yeah…”

“I think they were just messing with you, boo-boo.”

He huffed, “They were not. Aliens are real!”

“Okay. If you say so.”

“You can not believe me all damn day, I know they’re out there.”

She sighed, “Can I have some water now? Please?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah, sure.” Mac dug around in his pack and came up with a can. “You wanna try to sit up?”

“Okay.” She struggled up as far as she could get on her own and smiled when he helped her the rest of the way. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

She sipped the water and then frowned, “Am I crazy or am I not wearing pants right now?”

“Uh, yeah. They kinda died. I had to cut them off.”

“Oh.”

He took a deep breath and looked away, “Panties, too.”

_“Dammit!_ That was my lucky pair.”

Mac snorted, “Well, you’re alive, so I’d say they worked.”

“Yeah. Oh, well. I’ll have to hunt down some more, I guess.” She took a few more drinks and then rested her head against the headboard. “I’m a psyker. That’s what they called it. It went away for a while when I was a kid, but when I had Shaun… I dunno, it just came back. If I touch somebody, I can pull memories from them and stuff. Feel what they feel. If they’re weak-minded enough sometimes I can make them do things. I don’t usually transmit my own junk unless I’m doped up. And I can’t do anything cool like fly or levitate objects or tell the future or whatever, so don't ask me.”

“It’s sparkly though. That’s pretty cool.”

“I guess.” She smiled at him, “You’re taking this surprisingly well. Nate was positively hysterical when he found out.”

“Yeah, well… I’ve had a couple of hours to get used to it. I kinda freaked out in the beginning.”

“I bet.”

“But I mean, you’re still you, right?”

“Right.”

“And obviously you don’t go around…” He frowned thoughtfully, “Oh, wait. Is that how you made Barnes --”

“Yup.”

“And throwing him off the overpass? Was that you or was that the sparkles?”

She sighed, “Sparkles got him.”

“Heh. Kinda want to start calling you that.  _ Sparkles.” _

“Knock yourself out. But if you do it in public, I’m gonna start exclusively calling you boo-boo, just so we’re clear.”

“Aw.”

* * *

They both slept in late the next day. Her stitches looked pretty good for a little over fourteen hours. If she looked as good by dinner, he’d administer the stim. Until then, it was nothing but eating junk food and being lazy. Which suited him fine.

Nora was keeping herself busy drawing something in her giant book while he cleaned their weapons. He’d also snagged the revolver Kellogg had. She didn’t want it, wouldn’t even look at it, but it was modded to bejesus and back. A real piece of art. It would be a shame to just leave it behind. She took the jacket from him though. War trophy.

“Hey, Bobby.”

He looked up, “Yeah?”

She turned the book so he could see it, “This your mystery guy?”

His eyes about popped out of his head, “Holy f-frick! Yeah! That’s him! That’s the guy!” He came to sit next to her and get a better look. “You nailed him!”

“Thanks. It ain’t bad, is it?”

“It’s freaking amazing. So you’ve seen him, too?”

She chuckled, “Yeah. I’ve seen him. Diamond City and Goodneighbor.”

“So he’s following you, too. What the hell?”

“Well, now… I dunno about all that.” She shrugged, “I still just say he’s got one of those faces you see everywhere.” Her head tilted, “Still… he’s kinda handsome, right?”

Mac rolled his eyes and nudged her shoulder with his, “Oh, so now you’ve got a thing for this guy?”

“I never said that!”

“M’hmm.”

“He’s just… interesting.”

“Sure.”

“Like… what’s he up to? Who is he? What’s his actual game? It’s… intriguing. You know?”

“No, I don’t know. The guy’s a creep.”

“He doesn’t seem creepy to me.”

“Looks nefarious.”

Nora snorted and leaned over until their foreheads touched,  _ “We _ look nefarious, Bobby.”

“No, we  _ are  _ nefarious. And you look like an angel, which is probably how you get away with so much sh-stuff.”

“M’hmm.” She went back to staring down at the sketch. “I still say he’s not a bad guy… but then, my extraordinarily poor taste in men is legendary. If I like him, he’s probably Satan incarnate.”

“Ha! Hey, speaking of your taste in men, when can I cash in on that kiss?" He grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows.

Her smirk could have melted butter, "How about right now, handsome?"

He chuckled and barely pecked her on the lips, wrinkling his nose after. "You're right. It _is_ weird." He went to get up and she tugged him back down. “What?”

"Mac, uh..." She studied his face for a moment, worrying her lip, and turned the page. “Is this Duncan? Your little boy?”

He didn’t even look. He just blinked at her. “How do you know his name? How do you know I have a son?!”

“I saw him. I saw them. Lucy and Duncan.” She smiled even as her eyes welled up, “You were so happy. I’m so sorry, Bobby.”

“Y-you saw… you  _ saw _ them?”

“Yes.”

“You went inside my head?!”

“I didn’t mean to! I really didn’t! I… I hate doing that. If I’m doped, I have no control at all. I can’t stop myself from seeing things. I can’t stop myself from sharing things. It’s like an open conduit. I’m sorry.” She hugged the book to her chest. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

He looked away and rubbed at the back of his neck. The hairs there were standing on end and it was making him even more freaked out. “No, I… I appreciate you being honest with me. What all did you see, exactly?”

“Um… well, the cave. Lamplight. That was cool. Growing up next to Lucy. How hard life was without her when you left and how happy you were to find her again. How you were afraid she wouldn’t like you anymore because of who you’d become. Duncan and the farm. How happy you felt. Then the subway station. It was… terrible. Scary. You wanted to just lay down and die, but you had Duncan in your arms. So you kept going… and now he’s sick and you’re terrified.” She sighed, “That was the big risk you were taking. You had to leave him behind.”

“Yeah.”

“This cure… you really think it’s there? At Med-Tek?”

“God, I hope so.” He hid his face in his hands for a moment. “I really,  _ really _ fucking hope so. If it’s not, I… I dunno what I’ll…”

“It’s okay.” Nora set her book aside, pulled him over to her and let him snuggle against her while she petted and soothed. “It’s okay, Bobby. I’m going to get better and we’ll go resupply and then we’re going to go crack open Med-Tek.”

He sniffled and held on tight. “I thought you had to go see Valentine.”

“That can wait. I highly doubt he’s got an inside scoop on exactly where the Institute is, right? I gotta figure out where it is and then how I’m gonna get there. Kellogg said you don’t find it, it finds you, so… that means drawing attention to myself, right? That takes time. Planning. I gotta figure out things to do that’ll piss them off enough to come after me.”

Mac shook his head and held on tighter, “I don’t want them to come after you.”

She sank her hand into his hair and gently rubbed his scalp. “Shh. Don’t worry, darling. The boogeyman has no idea the kind of monster I really am… but they’re gonna learn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah, so we're finished with Mac for now! He'll have other chapters later. Next up will probably be Hancock followed by Piper and then Dogmeat.
> 
> Yes, Dogmeat gets his own chapter. Cause he's the best boy in the whole wide world. ❤


	4. Hancock (1/3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hancock and Nora meet for the first time. What starts off as just another seduction for Goodneighbor's resident Casanova quickly becomes something far more confusing and interesting than the mayor had bargained for.
> 
> Happens just after chapter one, during chapter 2 of Walking Contradiction: The Tricksters Meet. (No spoilers for the main story.)
> 
> NSFW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed I had to up the rating to Explicit.
> 
> Because of Hancock.
> 
> I'm sure y'all are as shocked as I am.
> 
> LOL

“Hey, boss.”

Fuck. He knew that tone. So much for taking a little mid-morning siesta. Hancock paused on the stairs and smiled down at his daughter-turned-bodyguard.

“Yeah?”

Fahrenheit scowled back at him, “Some kid just stumbled through the gate. Finn’s already --”

He raised his hand. He didn’t need to hear the rest. This shakedown routine of his had to stop. He’d already given the man… two warnings? One and a half, maybe?

Thus far, most of the complaints against him had been coming in from Daisy, rightfully pissed that Finn kept taking money from people who could have used it at her store or scaring them off altogether. But he had a sort of theoretical ideology on shit like that. Goodneighbor was _home_ to swindlers and thieves. That was the whole point. A kind of oasis for the criminally-inclined, mostly free from the rule of law or judgement. So he tended to only directly intervene when he actually witnessed shit going down.

Daisy and a few others didn’t exactly agree with his policy, and he was bummed about that. He really was. But he wasn’t trying to rule over people like some kind of tyrant. Nobody knew better than him what a slippery-slope taking power ‘for the greater good’ could be.

Of course, it meant that sometimes he had to actually  _ work, _ but that was alright. In small doses, anyway.

“Right. Well, let’s go catch him in the act then.”

He followed her out the door and down the steps. She leaned against the brick wall of the State House and pointed with her chin as he joined her.

“See? What’d I say?”

Hancock lit a cigarette and squinted thorough the smoke. It was bright as hell outside, even with his hat shading his eyes. Shoulda grabbed some shades.

Finn had some sweet little thing backed up against the gate. The dog at her side… Jesus fuck, what kinda dog was that? Kinda looked like Rin Tin Tin. What was that? A German Shepherd maybe? Nah, that couldn’t be right. Well, whatever the hell it was, its hackles were up. Had it not been for the girl’s hand on his collar, he was pretty sure the mutt would’ve already had a healthy mouthful of Finn’s balls the way he was baring his fangs.

Couldn’t get a good look at her from here. Stupid asshole was in the way. Towering over her. All he knew was she was a little taller than the average and scared. That pissed him off.

Goodneighbor had a rough enough reputation without kids being outright _scared_ of the place.

“You hand over everything you got in them pockets, or  _ accidents _ start happenin' to ya. Big, bloody,  _ accidents.” _

The hand on the dog’s collar tightened, “You better back off, or you're the one who's going to need insurance.”

Hancock winced at the frightened little tremor in her voice, even while he filed away the information that it was husky and sexy as fuck. Finn was already threatening her some more, moving into her space until she was plastered flat against the gate. He could practically smell the fear from here. She may as well have slapped a big target right on her chest with that one.

Fahr chuckled, “Aw, that’s cute. Look at her trying to be feisty.”

“Gonna get herself killed poppin’ off like that to assholes like Finn.”

“Nah, I _highly_ doubt most men would want to kill her… put a collar around her neck though? Yeah, sure. Probably.”

He frowned, “What?”

Finn finally shifted his weight over. A hand settling on the pipe pistol on his hip. Hancock got his first real look at the kid and sucked in a breath.

_ “Shit.” _

Wide, dark eyes. Perfect skin. Pretty face. Sweet little pouty mouth bravely trying not to wobble. Ridiculously ample curves, like out of a dirty magazine or something. The road leathers she'd somehow managed to squeeze herself into revealed everything you could ever possibly want to know about how she looked underneath. Her dark hair was falling out of the braid she had it in, tendrils curling around her face and making her look more like a porcelain doll than a real life woman. Even if he hadn’t noticed the Pip-boy on her arm, he already knew she had to be from a vault. No wastelander looked that tasty.

She stared up at Finn, clearly terrified. Her eyes darted past the idiot, looking for help or maybe just a way to slip by. They finally landed on Hancock and the distress and helplessness there got him right in the heart, and maybe a few places a little further south. He straightened his hat, pushed off from the wall and started walking over. He didn’t know where she’d come from or who she was, but she was obviously in dire need of a hero and he was more than happy to play pretend for however long it took him to coax her into his bed.

Fahr snorted behind him, “Here we go.”

He ignored her and popped his neck, settling into work mode. Shoulders a little further back, head a bit higher. The natural swagger in his hips becoming something a little more dangerous and threatening with every step.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out.”

Finn whipped around and practically growled at him. The girl’s eyes darted between them and something close to hope started shining in them. She clearly already recognized who was in charge here. He liked that. Showed intelligence and good instincts. It took every ounce of self-control he had to not wink at her. Instead he dragged his eyes away and focused on glaring at Finn.

“Someone steps through the gate the first time, they're a  _ guest. _ You lay off that extortion crap.”

He sneered, “What d'you care? She ain't one of us.”

He clucked his tongue at him, “No love for your mayor, Finn? I said let her go.”

“You're soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor.”

He almost laughed. He was pretty sure he was harder than he’d been in months just standing three feet away from the juicy little vaultie, but sure. Soft. Okay. He stepped up to Finn and put an arm around his shoulders, leading him away just a bit.

It wouldn’t do to let her get her dirty. Yet.   


“Come on, man. This is me we're talking about. Let me tell you something.” The cruel grin on his face was the only warning Finn got before Hancock’s knife was buried in his belly. The smallest of gasps came from the girl, but not exactly the scared kind, and his grin only grew. He twisted the knife for good measure before letting the body drop and shook his head at the unnecessary waste of it all, “Now why'd you have to go and say that, huh? Breaking my heart over here.”

She was still standing with her back pressed against the gate, but there was color in her cheeks now. An excited kind of glow in her eyes as she studied him and nibbled on her bottom lip.

Oh, yeah, they were gonna get along just fine.

“You all right, sister?”

She nodded and gave him a shy kind of smile, “I'm fine. Thanks for taking care of him.”

God, she was fucking cute with that breathless, soft voice of hers. So sweet and cuddly. He’d bet all the caps in his treasury that he could get her doing the nastiest shit within an hour of her panties hitting the floor. The quiet, shy ones were always the freakiest once you got them going.

“Good. Now don't let this incident taint your view of our little community. Goodneighbor's of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone's welcome.”

Another nod. Her cheeks were positively rosy at this point, “Yeah. I feel you.”

This girl was absolutely balcony fuck material. For sure. Get her high on… something. Something gentle so she’d feel good and loose. Calmex maybe? Have her spread wide so the whole town could enjoy the sight. Make a party of it.

“Good. You stay cool, and you'll be part of the neighborhood. So long as you remember who's in charge.” He slapped a little bit of a growl on it at the end, just for show, and smirked at the way it made her shiver.

Yup.  _ Balcony fuck. _

He was turning away, off to tell the boys this one was off-limits until he’d had his fill, when she cleared her throat.

“Mayor Hancock?”

He turned and raised his nonexistent eyebrow at her. Already a done deal, maybe? Shit, if he got her into his bed this fast, it would be a new record. It did not escape his notice that she’d eased a few steps closer to him. “Yeah?”

“Um… what…” Her head tilted a little and she touched her own cheek with a gloved hand, gentle concern practically radiating from her. “What happened?”

Well, wasn’t that sweet of her to worry so over a stranger? _Definitely_ a vaultie. “I’m a ghoul, sweetheart.”

“A ghoul?” Her head tilted the other way and she looked like a confused kitten, “You. You’re a ghoul?”

“That’s right.”

“The people in Diamond City said --”

He cut her off, “Those fuckers don’t know their asses from their elbows. Don’t believe any of the shit they try to sell you.” He hadn’t meant for it to come out so harshly, but it pissed him off. The idea that she’d already been tainted by those fucks just made his blood boil.

She immediately took a half-step back and lowered her eyes, “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”

Ah, fuck. She was already skittish and he'd just made it worse. He made the effort to gentle his voice as much as he could. “Nah. No need for you to be sorry.” He smiled when she peeked up at him again. “You like my face? I think it gives me a sexy, king of the zombies kinda look. Big hit with the ladies.”

Her soft giggle and the way those gorgeous eyes slid down his body made butterflies dance around in his stomach. “I bet it is. You’re very handsome.”

By the time she met his gaze again, she’d changed. There was something a little hard and mercenary there where before there’d been nothing but sweetness and light. Something sharp and calculating.

Working gal, maybe? Magnolia sometimes looked like that when she was sizing up a mark. Shit, if that was the case, then sign him the fuck up. He’d have this little chippy  _ swimming _ in caps and chems. Whatever she wanted. Sky was the limit.

“Thanks, sweetheart. You’re not so bad yourself. Now, there’s a lot of walking rad freaks like me around here, so you might want to keep those kinds of questions on the low burner next time. Friendly tip from me to you.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

He smirked at her, tipped his hat, and walked away. He needed more intel before he went and made an ass out of himself.

Couldn’t very well ask about discounted rates for renting out the week if she wasn’t actually that kinda girl, now could he?

He immediately sent Fahr on a fact finding expedition of sorts and ignored her repeated aggravated huffs and rolling eyes while he did. The vaultie was easily the most interesting, entertaining thing in town right now and he’d be damned if he wasn’t kept in the know. He certainly wasn't coming directly at high-caliber pussy like that until he had a solid plan hammered out. You usually only got one shot with top-shelf girls.

In the meantime, he’d just have to make do with what substitutes he could find.

Like the pretty girl presently sprawled out on her back across his desk, for example. One of his current frequent flyers out of DC. She’d do for now.

She had decent tits and nice, dark hair. Nowhere near as long as the new girl’s, but enough to get his hands in. He had it fisted in his grip now while he fucked her throat, groaning at the sweet feel of her gagging around him. He’d already stuffed a Nuka bottle deep in her pussy and it barely took just the slightest wiggle of his hand on the end to have her coming around it.

She moaned through her release and her esophagus finally loosened enough for him to feel the head of his cock pop down into it. A few more vicious thrusts, leaning his weight into it with a hand wrapped around her neck and he was emptying his balls straight down her throat. Her nose stayed pressed hard against his sack as she started involuntarily thrashing on his desk.

"Shh. Don't fight it. All this come's for you, sweetheart. You earned it. Just keep swallowing." He waited until she calmed down, falling limp under him like a good girl. Then he pulled himself free and painted her face and breasts with the last of it.

Hancock smeared it across her skin with his hand and roughly played with her nipples while she coughed and gasped for air. He liked it when his partners went home covered in him. Especially when that home was Diamond City. Felt like a little ‘fuck you’ every time even the smallest bit of him passed through those gates.

He waited until her chest wasn’t heaving quite so much and carefully tugged the bottle free, tossing it into a nearby wastebasket before kneeling down to wipe the thick drool and come off her face and drop a careless kiss on her lips.

Eyes weren’t the same, either. This girl’s… shit, what was her name again? Betsy or Betty or something. Anyway, her’s were a light sky blue. A little vapid and pale for his tastes.

He wondered what the vaultie’s eyes would look like after he fucked her brains out. All dark and sparkly and heated. That shimmering green and gold staring up at him while he --

“Did I do it right?”

The scratchy voice brought him back to reality and he smiled at her. Whatever her name was. “Yes, you were perfect, darlin’.”

She watched his cock with dreamy eyes and licked her lips, “You’re so big.”

Hancock chuckled and stood, “That’s why I gave you the good shit. So you could take it like a big girl.” He bet the new girl could swallow him down and then some. A mouth like that was made for fucking. Practically begging for it.

She giggled and shifted her hips. “I want more.”

"M'hmm." He nodded and hitched his pants back up. Yeah, that’s what Rebound with a Jet chaser could do to a person. Which is why he kept his stash of it under lock and key. Plus, shit was expensive as hell. Imported from way out west. Fred Allen hadn’t cracked the formula on it yet, but they were close.

Until then, he kept it reserved for special occasions. Like tonight, when he wanted to fuck the shit out of a girl’s throat for the first time.

“Sorry, sister. Got an appointment to keep.”

She pouted but rolled off his desk anyway. She already knew better than to try to argue or coax him into more. Once he was done, he was done. They all learned that quick enough.

He tugged the knot in the rope binding her hands loose before tying the flag back around his waist and frowned to himself. Shit. He’d been training this one up for at least a month now, hadn’t he? You’d think he’d be able to remember her name.

She’d made a puddle on the floor when she stood. Still so doped and hot that it was sliding down her legs. Couldn’t even be blamed on him this time, really. He’d only fucked her mouth the whole damn hour they’d been in here. He watched her stumble to her clothes and tutted at the absentminded way she kept slipping her fingers between her legs.

Crap. Too much.  _ Much _ too much. He must have overestimated her weight.

“You really want more, sweetheart?”

She turned back to him and grinned, “Uh-huh.”

“Does it matter if the more comes from me personally?” He chuckled at the shocked look in her eyes and helped button her dress most of the way back up. “Hmm? Cause I've got business to attend to, but I hate to see one of my angels suffer. If you want more, I’m happy to provide. All you gotta do is ask. Understand?”

“Yes.”

He waited but she was already spacing out again and he bit back an impatient sigh. “So you want more or not?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He kissed her cheek and led her over to the door. Jay, one of his oldest and most respected members of the Neighborhood Watchmen was standing just outside and he tapped his shoulder. “Hey.”

“Yeah, boss?”

“Got a bonus for you and…” He glanced back at the girl and thoughtfully pursed his lips. “Three of the boys. Your choice.”

The ghoul smirked and accepted her hand when he passed her off. “Thanks, boss.”

“Be nice to her, alright? Show her a good time.  _ Or else.” _

He chuckled, “Don’t worry. We’ll take real good care of Miss Bonnie.”

Bonnie! That was it. His sweet little Bon-Bon. He’d been so close. “See that you do.” He patted her head, “Be a good girl, Bonnie. Play nice.”

She was already trying to rub herself on Jay and nodded, “Okay.”

“Okay.” He shut the door behind her as they left and clapped his hands together. One problem solved. He noticed the already forgotten puddle from the doorway and sighed. Normally, he wouldn’t care, but his daughter was due any second now and he didn’t like rubbing her nose in this shit.

It was bad enough she’d worked for him for two years before he’d even realized who the hell she was. Spitting image of her mother and everything. Ridiculous. That’s when he’d made the permanent switch to Mentats and tossed the Med-X. Shit messed with his perception too much.

It’s not like repeatedly hitting on your own kid was something you could ever really live down.

She banged on the door fifteen minutes later and cautiously peeked her head inside before walking in. “Oh, good. You’re done.”

He leaned back against the couch and chuckled, “Been done, little sister.”

“Yeah, I saw the party downstairs. I just wasn’t sure if you were on to your next engagement already or not.”

“Oh, how’s it going down there?”   


She snorted, “Bonnie’s gonna need a room for tomorrow. I doubt she’ll be walking home any time soon.”

He grinned, “Fantastic. Glad to see the boys getting some much needed exercise.”

“Yeah. They were really hurting for entertainment.” Fahr rolled her eyes and flopped down on the couch opposite him. “Ready for the report?”

“Lay it on me.”

“Alright.” She pulled a notebook from her pocket. “I got Mags to talk to her.”

“Mags?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged, “I’m not really known for my people skills.”

Something that needed to change if she was ever going to take over this place like he hoped she would someday. “So you delegated. Good call.”

“Yeah. So here’s what we’ve got. Her name’s Nora --”

He let it flow out of him just so he could hear it. “Nora… that's beautiful.”

Fahr sighed, “For fuck’s sake, can I get through this or not?”

“Fine, fine. Go ahead.” He waved a hand at her and lit a cigarette to give his mouth something to do besides flap.

“Like I said, her name’s Nora. Estimated age somewhere in her late twenties. Used to be married.”

Now there was something interesting. “Used to be?”

“Mags noticed a band of white around her ring finger. So she must have taken it off recently.”

“Huh.”

“Got a dog with no name. Or… well, he has a name, but according to her, he doesn’t like it.”

“So why doesn’t she just… wait, he doesn’t  _ like _ it?”

“That’s what she said.”

“Huh.” Weird. Still, he dug anybody with a soft spot for animals. Usually meant they were a halfway decent person. "So what is it?"

“I dunno, she wouldn't say with him standing there. Said it hurts his feelings. Uh… lesse… oh! This was kinda funny. Apparently she’s trying to resurrect the Minutemen. Little pawn's got aspirations of being a Queen.”

“The Minutemen? I thought they all kicked the bucket after Quincy.”

“Apparently one made it out. He made her their new general.”

He snorted, “General of an army of one.”

“Right?” Fahr snickered, “Anyway, she asked a lot of questions about Valentine and Skinny Malone.”

Valentine was a pal, but Malone… “Ugh, why?”

“I dunno. She was… Mags described her as cagey. Said she’s kinda quiet. Likes rum, reading, and music. Pretty much in that order.”

So she was smart. Probably educated. That made sense. He’d read that most vaults had schools in them. “What vault she from?”

“111.”

Hancock frowned, “Ain’t heard of that one.”

“It’s to the north apparently. Just opened.”

“She a scout or somethin’?”

“Maybe. It would explain the questions.”

“What else she ask about?”

“You. Diamond City. Goodneighbor. The Railroad. Apparently gave a very detailed description of a super mutant without knowing what they were called, so Mags filled her in.”

“Shit. Doesn’t even know a mutie when she sees one?”

“Nope. She’s brand spankin' new. Babe in the woods.”

“Yeah.”

Huh. There was a weird feeling in his stomach now. Something hard to pin down. He’d known she’d be more innocent than the average, but being completely ignorant of everything in the wastes… not even Rylee out of 81 had been that bad off when she’d first showed up. Which is part of why he hadn’t had any qualms whatsoever about letting her tumble into bed with him. This Nora was… different though. He wasn’t sure he could participate in her defilement in good faith unless she came to him at least a  _ little _ dirty. Shit.

“How long she been out?”

“About a month.”

A month was nothing. Although he was impressed she’d survived thus far. Must be a good sneak.

“She’s here lookin’ for work.”

He grinned, “Work or uh…”

“Just work. Chuck’s got her clearing the warehouses as we speak.”

“What?” He sat up. “She’s going up against Markowski’s guys?”

“Yup.”

_ “Shit.” _

“Talked Chuck up to the limit you set.”

He blinked at her, “Four hundred?”

“Yup.”

“I only put that in there in case somebody talented showed up. Or if MacCready wanted in.” He threw the kid a bone whenever he could. Had to since he refused to accept outright charity. No matter how much he clearly needed it.

Anyway, he had a nice ass. Real nice, actually. Hancock always tried to make it a point of ingratiating himself to those in his town with asses he might like to one day get intimately acquainted with.

She shrugged, “Well, apparently she can lie well enough to fool a robot’s sensors. I dunno.”

“Damn.”

That actually was  _ remarkably _ impressive. Part of why he had Whitechapel Charlie handle most of his business arrangements was because the Mister Handy’s sensors could detect lies easier than any person ever could. Heart rates, pupils dilating, all that shit. If she could charm her way past all that, then she was a professional  _ something. _ He just wasn’t sure what yet.

“Anything else on her?”

She shook her head. “Nah… oh! She did ask Mags if she could draw her sometime.”

“Draw her?”

“Yeah.”

“That some kinda line?”

“That’s what I thought, too, but Mags said she was sincere when she asked.”

“Hmm.” Well, shit. Now he was more intrigued than ever. “Have Chuck send her up here once she gets the job done.”

“If she survives, you mean.”

“She’ll survive.” He was sure of it. He wasn’t sure why he was sure of it, but he was.

“I guess we’ll see.” Fahr stood and pocketed the notebook. “Oh. Almost forgot.” She pulled out a note from her other pocket. “Mags said to give you this.”

He took the note and smiled a little at the bright red kiss on it. “Thanks, doll.”

“Yup. You might want to open a window if you’re planning on trying to seduce this one tonight. Or light up a few dozen cigs. Kinda… smells in here and she's the squeaky clean type. Only took her gloves off once that I saw and that was to change to a new pair.”

Shit. “Thanks.”

Hancock watched her go and waited until the door closed to open a couple of windows before sitting back at his desk to read the note. If their songbird had gone to the trouble of writing him personally, it was something she wanted kept private. It took him a minute to figure out the strangely intricate way she’d folded the slip of paper into some kinda flower but he eventually got it. He held it out a little so he could read the neat, elegant cursive, mumbling the words to himself.

“John. There’s more to this one than meets the eye. Be careful. Don’t bite off more you can chew, honey. Love, M.”

He scowled at it. “The fuck does that mean?”

Having nothing else to do, he busied himself with some paperwork while the room aired out. He gave it an hour. The cold hadn’t bothered him since he’d turned, but he was betting it would bother a little slice like Nora.

It was another hour after that before there was a quiet knock at the door. Too polite to be anybody he knew.

“It’s open.”

She poked her head inside, looking around at the room before her eyes landed on him. The sweet smile she gave him had him getting up and meeting her at the door.

“Hello.”

“There she is, my new favorite. Please, have a seat. Let me get you a drink.” He gestured at the couches that he may or may not have flipped the cushions on and watched the way her ass wiggled as she crossed the room. Her dog followed, but it seemed harmless for now. Tongue lolling out and lazily wagging his tail before flopping down on the floor at her feet.

Cute.

He studied the way she sat as he headed for his liquor cabinet. Ankles crossed neatly. Hands folded in her lap. Those bright, pretty eyes taking in everything. She'd redone her braid. Neat and tidy down her back. A polite smile on her face. Demure and sweet.

Also cute. Be a hell of a lot cuter on her knees, but this was a nice start.

He handed her a rum and Nuka and sat across from her with his own whiskey. Didn’t want to startle this one. Push too hard too fast. She’d only just seen her first ghoul,  _ him, _ today, after all. She was practically a baby, really.

This meeting was just about laying groundwork.

“I heard you took care of the vermin in the warehouses for me.”

She took a sip of her drink and nodded, “Yes, sir. Thank you for the opportunity… and the caps.”

Hancock chuckled, “You don’t have to call me sir, sweetheart. Hancock’s fine.”

“Okay. Hancock.”

“So what should I call you?”

Her smile was a little sly and mischievous, “Didn’t your girl already tell you my name?”

Ah, caught. “Maybe.”

“It’s Nora. Nora Madison.”

“Well, Miss Nora Madison, I’m John Hancock. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Properly, I mean.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.” She laughed, “You’re the second mayor I’ve met this week and by far my favorite, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

He snorted. God, would his brother ever learn to not cockblock himself? Ever? “Yeah? Had a meeting with McDonough, did you?”

“A couple, yes. He wasn’t very helpful either time.”

“Yeah, he’s about as helpful as a bucket with a hole in the bottom of it.”

Another sweet little laugh, “Honestly, I wish I’d come here first. People are nicer. The prices are better. You should really be proud of yourself, Mayor. You have a fine town here.”

Mmm. Sweet, sweet flattery. “Well, that all sounds real nice, but you don’t have to pay me lip service, sweetheart. I’m not that kinda mayor.”

“I wasn’t. I really wasn’t.” Her eyes were suddenly very serious. “I’m usually pretty good at knowing good people when I see them. You’re all good people.”

“Excepting Finn, right?”

Her nose wrinkled at the name. “Well, he’s a corpse now, isn’t he? He doesn’t count anymore.”

“Heh.” He tossed his whiskey back and sat the glass down. “So… fresh outta a vault... what’s that like?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and blushed a little. “Ah, you could tell, huh?”

“It’s a little obvious when you know what to look for.”

“Hmm.”

“So? You missing the creature comforts of home yet?”

“Oh, I…” She shook her head, “To be honest, I don’t really consider myself a vault-dweller.”

He tilted his head and lit another cigarette, “Oh, yeah? You grow up with aspirations of being a wastelander?”

Nora laughed, “No, not exactly.”

He took a long, thoughtful drag and breathed out slowly. “Well? Come on, lay it on me, sister. You look like you’ve got a story to tell. So let’s hear it.”

She stared down at her drink and shook her head, “No, it’s… you wouldn’t believe me. No  _ sane _ person would believe me.”

He didn’t like the troubled look on her face or the defeated, sad tone of her voice. Whatever her story was, it was a heavy burden on her. “We’re all mad here.”

Her eyes came up, “What?”

“I’m mad. You’re mad.” He shrugged.

A little half smile appeared. So did a dimple. “How do you know I’m mad?”

He grinned at how quickly she’d caught on, “You must be or you wouldn’t have come here.”

“You’ve read  _ Alice in Wonderland!” _

“A few times, yeah.”

“Have you read any of Carroll’s other works?”

“Didn’t know he wrote any.”

“Oh, he did! He wrote a lot!”

A whole different Nora was sitting across from him now. Closer to the scared little girl at the gate, but still different. This one was eager and sparkly. Leaning forward with high color in her cheeks. None of the practiced artifice of earlier.

“I’m really more into poetry myself.”

“Oh! Who’s your favorite poet? Do you have a favorite?”

The way she was staring at him was intoxicating in a weird way. He couldn’t even remember the last time somebody had been this excited to just talk to him.

_ “And sometimes thro' the mirror blue, the knights come riding two and two --” _ _  
_

_ “-- She hath no loyal knight and true, the Lady of Shalott. _ Oh! Oh, I adore Tennyson!”

“Yeah? He your favorite, too?”

“No, I’m more a Blake girl myself.”

“Blake?”

“Oh, I'm sure you’ve heard of him! You probably just don’t know you’ve heard of him… oh, how does it go?” She frowned to herself for a moment, _ “To see a World in a Grain of Sand, and a Heaven in a Wild Flower --” _

“Right. Right.  _ Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, and Eternity in an hour. _ That’s uh…”

_ “Auguries of Innocence.” _

“Right. That’s the one.”

She smiled at him, “I didn’t know anyone knew… I mean, I thought that was all lost when the bombs fell. It’s so nice to know there’s still people out here appreciating it.”

“Yeah, well…” Shit. His Ma had read poems to him as a kid but he’d never thought to impress a chick with them.

“I… well… alright.” She nodded to herself. “Alright. I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me?”

“My story. I still don’t think you’ll believe me, but --”

“Hey, if you say it’s the truth, then I’ll have to believe you.”

“Hmm.” She shook her head, “Well, okay. We'll see. I did come out of a vault, but it wasn’t… it wasn’t the kind of vault they’d advertised. It was a cryo-vault.”

“What’s that?”

Nora’s eyes fell back to her lap and she swallowed hard. “We were frozen. The scientists froze us.”

Hancock frowned, “The hell they do that for?”

“I dunno.” She shook her head, “It doesn’t matter, I guess. I'm the only one who made it out.”

“Rude fuckers.”

“Yeah. Rude.” She laughed and drank her entire glass down in one gulp. “Can I uh… can I get another one of these? Please?"

“Sure.” He snubbed out his cigarette, set her up with a refill and decided to sit next to her this time. Get a little cozy. They were pals now with their shared love of the written word and all. He watched her drink half the glass and frowned a little at the way her hand trembled. “Hey, you don’t wanna talk about this, you don’t gotta.” Plenty of shit they could do with their mouths besides talk.

“No… I think it’s good. It's good to tell somebody.” She took a deep breath, “I’m pre-war.”

He stared at her face while she stared at her drink and tried to make sense of what she’d just announced but it wasn’t happening. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I was born on May twentieth... 2048.”

He felt his jaw drop open and snapped it shut before she caught it. Those sad hazel eyes looked up, staring into his and there were no lies there. She meant every word she’d said. “So… that makes you…”

“Two hundred and thirty-nine years old.”

“I was gonna say a Taurus, but yeah.”

She blinked at him and then started giggling. “Yeah… yeah, I’m a Taurus. That’s the important thing here, right?”

He chuckled and slung an arm back across the couch behind her. “Compatibility’s very important.”

“What’re you? No, wait, lemme guess… mmm, Leo?”

“Ah, that’s a hell of a compliment, but no. Gemini.”

“Oh! The twins! Of course. It all makes sense now.”

“What does, sweetheart?” He leaned a little into her space and was pretty thrilled with the way she let him, even snuggling a little closer to him. Had a hell of a view down her shirt from this angle to boot.

“The duality.” She breathed deep and smirked at the way his eyes followed the movement. “See, after everything I heard about you at the Rail, I figured you’d already have my panties off by now. But you’re actually a gentleman deep down, aren’t you? You just can't help yourself.”

That had his eyes back on hers. “A gentleman?”

“M’hmm. I told you, I know good people when I see them, and you’re good people.”

That weird feeling from before was back. The one that made him actually feel a little bad at the whole plan he’d already built around her. She was smiling up at him like he  _ wasn’t _ the Big Bad Wolf about to devour Little Red, despite all evidence to the contrary.

She liked him. She’d already decided to put her faith in him. Fuck.

“What uh… what kinda stuff did you hear?” He’d never really worried about his reputation before but now he kinda was.

“That you always call dibs on whoever walks through the gate. You’re in it for the conquest and then you move on. That the longest you’ve ever kept a pet was for a couple of months and then they get turned out.” Her head tilted, “How am I doing?”

Shit. “Pretty solid so far… so if you already knew all that, why’d you agree to come meet with me tonight?”

“Well, part of it was sheer curiosity.”

He chuckled and lowered his head to nuzzle against her neck. That’s what he always liked about good girls. They were just too damn curious for their own good. “Oh, yeah?” He hand moved up her arm and he just grazed the side of her breast with the back of his fingers, nibbling at her earlobe when she shivered. “What was the other part?”

“I thought you seemed lonely.”

That hit a little too close to home. Hancock brought his head up enough to look at her, “I’m a lot of things, love, but lonely ain’t one of them.”

Her wry smile was strangely soft, “It’s hard, isn’t it? Being in charge of everyone.”

Yeah, no, he couldn’t lie with those doe-eyes of hers staring right at him. His arm moved from the couch to her shoulders and he went back to nibbling along her neck. She stayed passive. No resistance whatsoever, so he kept going. “Dunno what you mean.”

“Everyone’s always looking to you. Depending on you to keep them safe. You can’t have friends. You want to, but you can’t. You’re too busy. Too important. So, you only have subordinates. Tools or marks, whatever you need them to be. Even when you want to get close to somebody, you question it. Are they just pretending so they can get what they want? Do they even like you at all?”

He didn’t bother answering her. Instead he just tugged the elastic out of her hair and ran his hand through it, loosening the braid until the silken strands fell across his fingers. Cool and soft and thick. It felt so satisfying holding it in his fist.

“It’s lonely when you feel like you can’t trust anyone.”

His mouth sealed over the pulse fluttering in her throat, licking lightly before biting down just enough to leave a mark. She gasped, just a little, and he let her hair go to slide along her thigh, tugging it closer to him so her legs were open.

“So you drown your heart in chems and alcohol and sex. It makes you feel like that solitude is your choice. Like you’re still in control. As if it wasn’t something forced on you… how am I doing now?”

Hancock reluctantly let her neck go and fell back into those eyes again. The compassion and warmth in them was too tempting to look away. It felt like he was looking in a mirror of some sort. Kindred spirits. “You got all that out of one conversation with Mags?”

“No. I got all that from one conversation with you.”

Magnolia’s words of warning rang through his head and suddenly made a whole hell of a lot of sense. This girl was like nothing he’d ever encountered before. Just ten minutes on his couch and he was ready to run away with her. Wherever she wanted so long as they were together. So long as she didn't take that honest warmth away.

She smiled gently at him and put her hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into it. He couldn’t remember the last time somebody had touched him without wanting something in return, be it sex or chems or caps.

“I’ll be your friend, John. If you want.”

Hancock opened his eyes, a little shocked at how wet they suddenly were. “You wanna be friends with a guy like me?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m not really known for bein’ the friendly type.”

Nora laughed softly, “I dunno. You seem pretty damn _ friendly _ to me.”

He snorted at that and laughed, resting his forehead against her shoulder while he tried to get it under control. His hand moved to a more neutral location on her knee and he just kept laughing. He couldn’t stop.

“I mean, you’re definitely friendlier than anybody else I’ve met so far. Nobody’s thought to give me a hickey since I was a kid. It’s kinda sweet. Wholesome, you know? Is that the hot thing now? Hickeys? I was betting on sex having changed in the last two hundred years but I didn’t realize humanity would be so into necking on the couch.”

There was a sassy kind of twinkle in her eye when he finally managed to look at her.

She grinned at him, one hundred percent brat. “Thanks, Hancock. You really know how to make a girl feel like a kid again.”

“Oh, shut up.” He leaned back and ruffled her hair. “Were all women such mean little smartasses before the bombs?”

“I dunno. Are all men unstoppable horn dogs nowadays?”

Yeah, definitely a brat. “No.”

“Oh, good. So some things _have_ improved.”

He chuckled, “So friends, huh?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“People’ll talk. They’re gonna assume I’m dicking you down on the regular if you keep showing up around here.”

She shrugged, “Let ‘em talk. I’ve heard worse in my day. I don’t really care.”

A frown crossed his face and he was surprised at how irritated he suddenly was. “Who’s been running their mouth on you? Anybody I know?”

“I dunno. Are you a pre-war ghoul? Daisy said some ghouls are pre-war but a lot aren’t.”

“I am not.”

“Then no, you wouldn’t know them. They all died.”

“Good. Fuckers.” He put his arm back around her shoulder and pulled her close to him, “Nobody talks shit about my girl and gets away with it.”

“Oh, I’m your girl now?”

“Yup.”

“We just met, honey.”

“T'was destiny.”

She laughed, “Well, you do remind me of someone I used to know.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Was he handsome?”

“Very, yes.”

“Good.” He took a deep breath and finally convinced his cock to calm the fuck down. This one was different. They had to do things in the proper order for once. “So I heard you’re looking for work, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I need um… well, I need to sharpen up my skills a bit. It’s been a while since I was uh… in a position to have to defend myself, I guess.”

His eyebrow went up a little but he didn’t ask. “Well, I might have something for you.”

“Oh, yeah? You sure you can afford it? Your pockets are already four hundred caps lighter cause of me, aren’t they?”

He made a face at her cheeky grin. “Yes, I can afford it.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“How are you at sneaking?”

“Oh, I am a born and bred sneak. Been sneaky since I could walk.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I got reconnaissance needs. There's a lot weird talk coming in about a place called the Pickman Gallery. It's raider territory up there, but they've been quiet. Like, uncomfortable post-coitus quiet? Snoop it out, and give me the word. Get paid.”

“Okay. Sounds simple enough. How much?”

“Two-fifty.”

“What?! I did work  _ in _ your town for four hundred and now you want me to take  _ less _ to go further away?”

“Come on, Sunshine, help a guy out. Ain’t you ever heard of a friends and family discount?”


End file.
